The Midnight Mole
by purinpuff
Summary: No, I didn't add a 20th chapter. I'm just messing with you. In an alternate universe, a certain ninja finds himself in a certain someone's backyard. However, his past does not forget as easily as he does.
1. Please Call Me Kenji

I suppose that's the thing behind fanfiction. When one knows the story too well or does not know the story very well and is not able to learn much, one makes up one's own stories.   
My case is the latter. I don't know too much about Bloody Roar, but I am a fan nonetheless. I take what I know from my little gaming experience, fanfiction, a reliable friend, and other such stuff and do fanstuff.  
A rather nutty story formed in my head. I decided to let it out before it morphed into something too strange. Anyhow, I have experience from Gundam Wing fanficcing, and it's time I fanficced once more.  
I hope you don't mind my Alternate Universe story.  
  
It was a few minutes after midnight. Hardly a window was lit in any of the houses of the semi-suburban neighborhood which lived in the shadow of a condensed city. The night was silent and the sky was dark and the stars were clear. Surely everyone was fast asleep.  
  
If only people knew the kinds of battles that could be fought in complete silence.   
  
A note had been left by he who hired them: "Midnight marks your death."   
Indeed, his heart had been torn in two just as the first midnight bell chimed.  
  
What the silent assassins did not know was their victim's people had a similar weapon up its sleeve. And now, on the rooftops of unsuspecting people's houses, blows were exchanged, attempts at bloodshed were made through the night as the two sides travelled across the residential block, their battle ever travelling. A death to one side would be a victory, as it would reveal its clan if the body was not removed.  
His skill is waning, the master thought to himself. He watched a certain youth and noted how his consciousness faded in and out. A lack of conscious thought proved helpful in fighting, but something else was disappearing. The rest of the lad's mind was losing touch with the world as well. Without this input, instincts could not help him. Besides, he reminded himself, this child will succeed me someday and take my place. How could he skillfully lead the Clan of the Soil if he could not think?   
Perhaps that was their aim.  
  
Now was not the time to think of combating treachery. He noted the boy looking like he took a small injury, but it was nothing. Besides, he had been trained to resist poison, if there was any used. He moved along with the travelling battle until, somehow, somewhere, it ended. Whatever happened, the master's heir was not there to witness it.  
  
"Master, the young dragon is missing," one of the ninja reported.  
The master bowed his head and contemplated searching for him. He decided the thank the clan's exclusive clients for once and took out a small plastic device. Unfortunately, the receiving end was unable to be equipped with a tracking device without having such an implant being detected by other sensors.  
It was time to put this invention to use. It had been a long time since the "young dragon" had had practice in his clan's exclusive hiding technique, the origin of the title "Clan of the Soil." Surely he could pass a test like this by now and be able to return safely, unless he got into more trouble. Then again, he was probably conditioned enough by now to avoid trouble. Then again, what if his conditioning got in the way?  
He had a feeling something was wrong with the corrections made those times.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Young Dragon! You will never be ready if you cannot beat me. I don't care what's broken. Get up!"  
"Why do you look so sad? Are you lost?"  
"Dammit! Don't you understand how frustrating this is for me?! Speak to me! Say something. I beg you! Speak!"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Death coursed through he veins as he attempted to sit up. He remembered the poisonous barb puncturing his arm that night, and trying to follow in his drowsiness, but finding he was headed in the wrong direction, and then falling into a patch of bushes and being scraped everywhere by the stiff, pointed leaved. Then, he recalled the twitching in his body and the stiffening in his fingers. He figured it was paralysis brought on by the poison before he passed out.  
Just bringing back all that nearly caused him to blank out yet again. Using his brain was so difficult and his memory of anything was atrocious, especially if killing was involved. Once he was fixed on killing and his missions, everything seemed to fade out and the smallest portion of his mind controlled him. His faulty memory had upset the Master so much lately...  
He made another attempt at moving, but the injuries and poison made this very difficult. It was then he realized his body had changed. He felt for his clothes and was certain of it: he had transformed without realizing it. The oversized scarf told him he was now a mole, a normal, tiny, mole.  
What time was it? How long had he been lying there? It was so hard to see, and he could not remember his eyesight being this bad in his mole form. Perhaps the poison had taken out his eyesight? True, master had once been blind before they fixed that, but he was not ready to be a blind ninja!  
Whatever was wrong, he needed to hide out. The heat told him it was daytime, so he had no time to waste. He painfully dragged himself out of the bushes to find concrete, and was thus forced to drag himself in the opposite direction. When he slipped under the fence, he encountered grass and soil. This was perfect. Now, if only he could get his body to dig....  
A gasp. His clothes should have been hidden well in the bushes, but then again, he could not check with his eyes.  
"You'd better leave it alone, sis. It looks like its dying. Might be rabid, too."  
"But I can't just leave it there."  
The breeze shifted direction in his favor and the scents of a mature and a younger female human met his nose. He was already getting used to being blind, like many moles.  
Vibrations in the ground signalled to his paws that one of them was leaving. Next were more rapid footsteps of the other, and the same rapid footsteps came back not too much later.The smell of the younger one became stronger and he felt a handkerchief surround him and hands holding him. His world bounced up and down and sped towards one direction and doors open and shut. He was set down on a desk as the female human set about to making much noise fumbling around. The next thing he knew, the hands grasped him again and lowered him into soft tissues and cotton balls with the handkerchief pulled over him as a blanket.  
  
"You should at least die in a warm, safe place. What are you anyway? Are you a mole? If you are, Alice is always accusing you of eating her tulip bulbs. I keep on telling her I read it's mice using your tunnels, but she doesn't believe me. But don't let that bother you. I wonder what hurt you like that? Do moles fight each other? Oh, look at me! I'm talking to a rodent!"  
She sighed and stroked the mole's back covered with the handkerchief. "Have a nice rest. I have to go to school. Perhaps I'll get you something to eat when I get back."  
  
Her hours at school gave him much time to think on his own as his body became accustomed to the poison. Had not something like this once happened before? Some time before, had not somebody found him and taken him in and taken care of him? This seemed very familiar. Still, he had to go back. The master would find him eventually, and then... and then.... Right. The master would do what he always did when he failed him, and then he would take him to The Doctor. Following this would be his flights into and out of reality.  
Who was The Doctor? Why did that very term send a shiver down his spine?  
  
When the girl returned she dropped a handful of earthworms into his box before immediately racing for the bathroom sink. She also tucked a few dandelions into his bedding.   
As she did her homework, she found herself talking to her patient about school and her friends and evil subjects and teachers. How intriguing. The mole had none of these things, aside from a single teacher, his master. He had never had a "chemistry teacher," or "essays," or "comic books." Fascinating. Were all the other victims like this?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was night once more. The clock struck twelve and something in his body told him something was a little odd. He realized what it was and knew the regimen as he had heard of it from somewhere. The bare form of a muscular yet unusually slender human body covered in many thin scratches found its way to the window and managed to find the outfit left in the next door yard. He returned indoors and started to dress himself to prepare for a long night of navigating back home.  
He remembered the girl when he realized a familiar smell was affecting him a different way. He did identify her age by her pheromones earlier that day, after all. The ninja decided to use a little trick, almost a kind of hypnosis, used to get information from unsuspecting sleeping individual, which he had seen before and even attempted once or twice. He carefully became very close to her and listened to her breathing to make sure she was in the right kind of sleep. He very silently whispered many things in her ear to bring her to talk to him.  
"Can you hear me?"  
"Yes."  
"Good. I want to thank you for taking me in. I was going to leave just now."  
"Hn. Don't go."   
"What's that? You know who I am?"  
I guess I'm not doing a very good job, he thought to himself.  
"Who are you?"  
"This isn't supposed to happen. I'm the one asking questions. Who are you?"  
"I'm Uriko. Uriko Nonomura. Pleased to... meet you..."  
  
Were the subjects supposed to say that?  
  
"Our meeting is short, as I am to be leaving shortly. You could never understand. Your dear pet must say farewell now. As summer turns to autumn, all things must cease to be and die."  
"Don't say things like that... You're too young and handsome..."  
Handsome? She had not even seen his human face!  
"Don't die..." she continued to mumble, "I took good care... don't die..."  
He listened to her curiously. Did she know?  
"Then again.. I am still rather hurt. Could you take care of me a little longer? Your pet shall live, do not worry, and you can continue to tell him all those interesting stories you have to tell. Good night, Uriko."  
He stood up to return to his box when he heard his subject's voice.  
"Who are you?" She asked him once more.  
The ninja turned towards the voice and thought of what he could be called.   
"Someone... long ago... once called me 'Kenji.' I think."  
"G'night Kenji," she slurred before snoring loudly. 


	2. Fights and a Pervert

Well, here is chapter two. Already, it's becoming bad as one of my faults is shown: When characters talk, their dialogue becomes the entire story. Also, I need a little filler and cuteness before anything really starts happening.  
Gee, I wonder who The Doctor is ~_~;;.  
Read this, and regret giving me your good reviews.  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
  
  
"Master Bakuryu," a slithery voice inquired, "Did I hear the young dragon had gone missing?" The master turned to a frequently seen member of his clan's employers. Something was strange with this man, as was with the employers. There was a difference, however. The Clan of the Soil had been serving the family leading their employers for generations without any conflict between the two.   
"Asking for him already, Doctor?"  
For the past few years, this strange character had been working for them. The Master had no idea why he was trusted so, for this individual had been obviously butting into every private situation and every matter of importance, one of these being the the heir. True, he had taken care of certain problems with him, but the doctor was always looking for an opportunity to get his hands on the boy and have a session with him. These were apparently having some negative side effects evident in the young dragon's performance.  
"He will be fine. We shall wait a while before considering going out to search for him. I have programmed his body so he will not get into accidents like before."  
"I see you like my little addition?"  
"He will be a small creature in the day, and from midnight to dawn, he will have the ability to return to his human form. The challenge would be to make steps back during the short hours in which we work, you see.  
"If you're not careful, you'll lose him."  
"I know this better than you do. He is important, but what happens to him is none of your business. He will only be of your concern when I say he is."  
".... of course, Master Bakuryu. I'm merely concerned for your only heir, and since his opportunity to replace you is drawing ever near, I've been especially worried."  
"It is not your concern, Doctor," the master stated firmly, "Stay away from him."  
"As you wish."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Good morning, Mister Mole!" an energetic voice chirped, "I read you moles eat a lot more than I thought. I hope I haven't starved you these past few days, poor mole! We're going to have to weigh you."  
Alice was in for a big surprise when she went to take her morning shower and found a brown rodent on the bathroom scale. Kenji tried to cover his ears with his paws as Alice shrieked at Uriko for bringing in strange animals while Uriko screamed back, insisting Mister Mole was not rabid.  
"'Mister Mole?' What kind of name is that?!"  
"Well, he's a mole, and he's male, see?" she explained, holding the mole by his hind legs to demonstrate proof of its gender.  
Kenji could not see, but he knew what those with sight could see. He squeaked uncomfortably.  
"You can't keep a wild animal for a pet!"  
"He's not dangerous!" she insisted once again, shoving Mister Mole into her face, "Why don't you see for yourself?"  
Kenji and Alice both squeaked in surprise as their noses both briefly touched. There was an awkward few seconds of sickening silence before she could take no more of this unsanitary creature.  
Alice shoved her sister out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.  
"See if I care if you get rabies! Don't come crying to me when you lose your mind!"  
"He's not rabid!"  
"He is so!"  
"Mooo-ooom!" Kenji's keeper yelled.   
An annoyed voice from the bathroom mumbled, "Mom's out of town for the week, retard."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
That night, Uriko had plenty to say to Kenji as he dined on his weight in worms. Alice could be such a pain sometimes, and now the bathroom still reeked of rubbing alcohol from her disinfecting the scale. But Mister Mole shouldn't worry. She was going to make sure he stayed safe. Besides, this weekend, her mother was going to take them to a farm where they could pick strawberries when she came back. Uriko had fond memories of going through the rows of strawberry bushes as a small child with her little basket, eating bright red strawberries and sampling the hard green ones out of curiosity, putting very few into the basket to be weighed at the checkout.   
She picket him up and tickled his stomach. "And you don't squirm. Even hamsters squirm when their owners hold them. You're a wild animal and you don't squirm at all. I guess you don't mind being in my house."  
She looked straight into his face. "Alice and I must have scared you this morning with our yelling. It's nothing. You understand, don't you?"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Don't look at me like that! That's all you ever do! Just... go away... Leave me alone."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
He lightly stroked her cheek and caressed the girl's face, wishing he was able to gaze upon it. The human Kenji was lightly perched at her bed, his face so close to hers he could feel her breath, as he shared another midnight conversation with her. Perhaps, if he could be human in the day, he could eat strawberries with her.   
He had no reason to return now. He was a drifting mind, he told her. His mind was so defective compared to his comrades, he had no clue as to why he was bound to his future position the way he was. He did what was put on front of him. If a path was presented to him, he supposed me must drift in its direction, just because. The path right now was being a small pet mole of a teenage girl, and he was content with it. He would follow it until something changed, he supposed. That was all he had done in his life, he was pretty sure.  
He had no reason for anything, really. He had no mind, either. He merely was. He existed and did what he was to do, with no drive or effort. He plodded and drifted whereas others raced and strived (or so they say). His horrible memory made matters worse. Was there truly a choice in this world?   
"Anyway, I don't mind being your pet, Uriko. Don't worry."  
Kenji paused for a moment.  
"Uriko, tell me about-"  
He was so absorbed in the hypnosis, his senses had not kicked in until it was a second too late. The young man reverted into the furry mole, but a split-second of his human form had been seen.  
Alice's scream echoed through the steel beams. Her sister shot straight up in bed.  
"What? What? What's wrong? What happened!"  
"Kyaaaaaa! Kyaaaaaa! Pervert! Pervert!" She yelled, running around the room, looking for said pervert.  
"Eh? A Peeking Tom?"  
She looked in the closet, under the bed, behind the desk, out the window, any place a person could have hidden. "There's a pervert in here somewhere! I saw him. He was hanging over you and who knows what he could have if I hadn't caught him."  
"Alice, are you serious?! Are you sure you weren't seeing things?" She wrapped her arms around herself contemplating that mental image of a sick male looming over her as she slept.  
"I know I saw someone, but.." She violently shoved herself in Uriko's face, her expression now one that could shatter glass. She hissed in her face.  
  
"Uriko. Have you been sneaking boys in here?"  
  
Immediate facefault. "What are you talking about," she stuttered back.  
"He looked about your age. Don't you know what diseases you could get if you mess around like that?"  
"Geez, Alice, it's been months since I last had a boyfriend! You know I'm not that kind of girl!"  
The elder sister stood straight up and grimly walked out of her room, telling her she could just forget about asking her help if she suddenly develops a rash between her legs. The door slammed loudly behind her, and after the echo died out, the house was once again silent.  
The younger sister stared a moment, wondering how to feel, and then angrily shoved herself under the covers, mumbling something about the Hippocratic oath under her breath. Suddenly, she felt something warm moving under her breast. She leapt up and nearly performed an accurate imitation of her sister's scream until she saw it was her new pet.  
"Oh, it's just you. How did you get over here?"   
She settled herself into bed with Mister Mole and gave him a comfortable little spot where she could look at him and pet him. She tickled his belly, since he seemed to like that, and joked about him being her "pervert."  
"You really do like humans, don't you? I can't belive I'm sleeping with a wild little critter who's been digging through the ground. Who knows where you've been. Anyway, I had a nice dream before Alice ruined my sleep."  
"Squeak?"  
"Yeah, I can't really recall it, but I know I liked it when it happened. I've been having pleasant dreams lately, I think."  
"Kenji..." She said to the ceiling, "that's a nice name for a boy to have. I wonder why it's popped into my head. None of my exes is named Kenji."  
"Squeak...."  
"It doesn't matter, anyway. Good night, Mister Mole." 


	3. More than Just Literature

Yes! I have finally figured out how I shall make certain events happen!  
  
As I told you, I am most likely doing AU since I know so little (also, my mind is twisted, but that's another story).   
So, here are some more examples of guessing of characters'.... character... based on basic information and such. Besides, this is AU so I can do practically whatever I want (and swipe a line or two from Chrono Trigger while I'm at it)!  
Fuahahahaha!  
*cough* *hack* *wheeze*  
Achem. Chapter Three of The Midnight Mole:  
Mole tidbit: Look up a bit of music called "Hard Working Moles are Good Moles"  
Need help? Contact me.  
Oh, and please leave a comment. I am so desperate for compliments.  
(er... what's his last name? I'm sorry if I got it wrong, but I just went with what sounded better)  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
"Mom used to be at home all the time... but then Dad left and Mom has to support us now."  
"Really," Kenji sighed while giving Uriko's hair a quick stroke, "Is that why she was away this week?"  
"Yes, she has to travel a lot, and Alice doesn't like that."  
"Is this why Alice has been so unamiable, Uriko?"  
"She wants to be a nurse and travel around, saving the world and all that crap."  
Kenji laid his head on the bed and gazed at Uriko as if he could actually see her. "So she's stuck at home, taking care of you instead of a poor child." In her sleep, the girl mumbled sadly, "She hates me."  
"I wish I had someone to hate me the way she hates you." The ninja guessed it was probably time to to stop.   
"Good night, Uriko."  
The sun would probably rise in an hour or two.   
"Eh? What's this.." he whispered when his foot touched something. It was his keeper's schoolbag, full of her sweet scent. There were other interesting scents in there, too, but one struck him as vaguely familiar. It was on an outfit of some sort, mixed in with more of Uriko's scent.  
"A gi...?"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was bright, sunny day at school, even brighter because it was a Friday. Uriko, in the school's bright blue uniform, prepared for the upcoming classes. Another week over, and then she would spend a little time with her Mother.... and then it was Monday again.  
"It never ends!" she mock-yelled and then proceeded to comically bash her head against her locker door.  
Well, first it was Mr. Jerkman's Chemistry class, then Ms. Screetchy's History class, and then, Mr. Long's Literature Class (that was not so bad), and then.... well, whatever came next, but Fridays always ended with the ultimate test: a full hour of the most boring class in the world...  
"Riko #1!" called a voice from behind her.  
"Eh. What is it Riko #2?"  
"Riko #2," better known as Mariko, was a girl with short black hair tied up in little red ribbons. She wanted to know if the two of them could go out that day.  
Uriko rolled her eyes. "It's the same question every week, isn't it? I have an appointment with Mr. Long after school."  
"Yeah, what's with that? I thought he didn't offer a review class."  
She winked at her friend with a little smirk. "Well, let's just say he teaches me more than just Literature."  
Mariko gave her a strange look and she just laughed and explained she said that just to get an odd reaction from her. "It's Kenpo! But don't tell anyone, alright?"   
The first bell rang and the two girls bid each other a hasty farewell to sprint up to their first period classes.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Male? Female?  
Then again, power was beauty, and he certainly had power.   
So why was he neglected?  
A muscular man with a delicate, beautiful face and paced up and down his room. His hair brushed his face as it was now not in its normal bun. He was superior in his skills as well as his looks to all the other assassins, as far as he was concerned. However, he was being ignored.  
"Just what is it with that little brat, anyway? Just because he's a young kid?"  
Youth! A sudden realization once again came over him: beauty and youth do not last.   
He shrugged it off just the same as before. As an assassin, in the life that led nowhere, he'd surely die young and leave a beautiful corpse.  
"That is, unless, I am too good..." he whispered with a little grin.  
So the precious "Little Dragon" was missing? Doc was spending too much time with him anyway. Why not just let him be and let the Clan of the Soil die with the sole heir to the Kato School of Ninjutsu and get them out of the way. Though useful, they were too loyal to their generations-long service and could prove to be a nuisance, after all. Why could Doc not just eliminate them, just like the other nuisances?  
That damn little boy with his "pretty" little face... Perhaps measures should be taken to make sure he never returns.  
He grinned once more. The Fox had not hunted in a while.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Literature teacher Long Shin was a man on whom a number of students had crushes. He was a mature and sophisticated man with long black hair tied in a ponytail with a number of bands so it was almost a braid. He also donned a small pair of glasses, which perfected his face in the eyes of the young ladies in his class, one of whom saw him after school to receive Kenpo lessons.   
The two had just finished a lesson and were resting, drinking a little water to rehydrate themselves.  
"Why don't you start a class or a club, Mr. Long?" Uriko finally asked him. The subject had been on her mind for a while.  
He gazed out the window with a relaxed look on his face. "I have pondered such a thing before. I don't know if I want to be doing this too much nowadays, however. I don't think it's good for me."  
Without thinking, his student blurted out, "I'd think Kenpo would be better for you than teaching a bunch of kids."  
He smiled and chuckled lightly. "Teaching can be very stressful, indeed. Speaking of such.... Can you tell me what the centaurs represent, Miss Nonomura?"  
"Eh. Wha-what?"  
"The Centaurs of the Seventh Circle of Hell, those keeping the ones who spent their lives spilling the blood of others."  
She blinked. "We-we're talking about Dante now?! Uhhh... aren't they, like, the bestial side or something?"  
"Right, they are stationed their to match the punishment of those sinners. And the constellation Sagittarius," he added, now gazing out the window as if he was now entering a different place in his mind, "represents intellect joined with physicality as a centaur: half man, half horse.... half beast.."  
Perhaps this was why the girls swooned over this teacher (other than the fact that all the other teachers were married or a little too old or just plain not very attractive). The disciple gazed at her master as he gazed longingly away from the world and reality with a slightly sad look added to his normally calm features.  
He then blinked and remembered the present. "What am I doing?" he asked himself, "let's pack up, shall we?" He helped her gather up the mats and pads while telling her, "You're doing very well. You're a little clumsy and loose in your form, but you do know what you are doing."  
She thanked him and grabbed her bag to retrieve her school uniform and then yelped when a furry little creature fell out with her clothes.   
"Mister Mole?!" she squeaked.  
"....Mole?"  
"Mr. Long, he's from my backyard, but I don't know how he got into my bag."  
She picked him up and scolded him for doing something so dangerous. Her teacher looked at the mole curiously.   
"He looks friendly. Do you mind if I see him a little?'  
He took him in his hands and examined him carefully. Unfortunately, Kenji could not see the look in his eye that spoke "I know you."  
His hard glare startled the girl and she tried to change the subject by adding that he liked to have his tummy scratched. "Really," was Long Shin's reply as he felt around Mister Mole's furry neck with one finger for something.   
"Does he like being scratched... here?"  
He gave a quick jab to the spot he found with his index finger. Kenji squeaked in surprise. An almost silent whisper was given in response: "It seems I won't have to wring your little neck. If my guess about you is wrong, however..."  
He pressed his thumb menacingly against his windpipe.  
"Don't mess with me. I'm not going back."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alice and Uriko's mother, who went by the name Mitsuko, was a rather large woman compared to her daughters. She was often thought of as something as a babysitter for the longest time. She came back home to a reheated supper, talking about their shares in Tylon.  
"But Mom! I was going to volunteer at the hospital this weekend!"  
"I'm sorry, Alice, but something's come up. You're going to have to come with me this weekend. I'll get a chance to show you the office..."  
Alice slammed herself into her seat and faced away from her mother. "Sure, just let my ambitions go to waste."  
Mother put down her fork sadly and asked for Uriko. Was she upset about not going to the strawberry farm tomorrow?  
"No" Alice snorted, "She's been locked up in her room with her stupid little rodent friend."  
"You were serious about the mole?" She decided to check on her normally cheerful daughter while Alice mumbled, "I told her it was rabid, but did she listen? Nobody listens to me..."   
"Uriko, what's this about a-"  
When Mitsuko opened the door, she saw a dark room with her daughter huddled up on her bed, cradling something in her arms, sobbing. Uriko turned to her with tears in her eyes and down her face.   
"My mole... I think he's dying." 


	4. Stay Away From Tylon

Well, here is chapter 4. It would have been up sooner, but I've been having a bit of a problem with my DSL, so I'm making use dialup connection. My computer itself itsn't hooked into a phone line right now, so I hafta do all this transferring and whatnot.... That's why I haven't been sending or answering much email and why I haven't updated Cuddly Moles all week. Sorry!  
Sheesh, I gave Mitsuko my Aunt's job. Then again, my Aunt's job isn't one that keeps her away from home on an irregular schedule, but sometimes the idiots underneath her make her life hard for her.... so I suppose Mitsuko has a lot of idiots underneath her.  
Let's just hope the Coca-Cola corporation doesn't kidnap me for its zoanthrope experiments (perhaps theydon't just produce the secret ingredient in that top-security building).  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
In the sheets with his keeper, he held onto her tightly in his human form. Faltering hands clutched her nightgown and he buried his face into the chest of the girl, who still slept soundly.  
"D-don't leave me... don't let them take me away.... don't leave me alone...."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"What a bad storm," Mitsuko sighed. Yet there were still risk taking idiots cutting on front to her, a dangerous thing to do even in the sunshine, despite the conditions outside. The pitch black sky wept rain onto their car, the grey road sped underneath, and the streaks radiating from bright circles of red and yellow lights shone through.  
  
The mood was already glum enough, what with plans for quality time cancelled, along with Alice's inability to practice the profession she had wanted since she was young because of this, and Uriko's little animal's condition turning for the worse.  
The night before, her daughter's new "pet," whom she had named "Mister Mole," started to spasm and writhe about, as if in pain. Uriko was heartbroken and held it like a child, weeping for it. When her mother took the mole out of her hands so her daughter could wash up and think over the situation, the mole started to squeak loudly and move about desperately in Mitsuko's hands the whole time (while Alice tried to convince her to euthanize it while Uriko was not looking). Only when it was in the braided girl's embrace did it calm down. That night, she took the little animal to bed with her, and now she cradled him in the back seat.  
  
She decided to cheer up her little family. "Say, have I ever taken you to the office?" Mitsuko worked at the bank in the employees' center at Tylon Corporation. The employee's center was sort of a crossroads of a lobby where the workers had access to the building's own post office, dry cleaner, bank, cafeteria, store (selling supplies with the Tylon logo and perhaps the mascot at with a fifteen percent off discount to the employees), and anything else the workers might need.  
"Yeah, I think you have," Alice answered her. "You get to flip through all that cash in the vault, right?"  
She put on a mock mischievous grin. "That's right! Too bad it ain't mine, huh?"  
"It's been a while since I had to sign someone in. You'll have to get a one-day badge with your name and-"  
"I remember those. They have that sticker that changes color after a day."  
"Yeah, that's right."  
  
They finally reached their hotel, one aimed towards frequent travellers where Mitsuko was a regular. They had rented the typical hotel room, and when it came to be time for bed, Uriko was still huddled in a chair on front of the window with her mole. Her mother decided it was best to leave her alone if these truly were her final hours with her beloved pet. Her sister decided to to take the second bed and not let any latecomers expect her to share.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When the house was silent, a human ninja stood and carried the sleeping Uriko to the couch, which was conveniently close to the table and chairs for him to feel his way there. He laid her down and put a cushion behind her head and then perched himself near her face to once again tap into her mind as he did before.  
  
He told her, "I'm alright now. Sorry if I had scared you, but I could not control what happened to my body just then. The device inside me... I don't think I can really explain it, but something happened to it and all the programming started going haywire. All those conflicting messages and hormones sent my body reeling. I was afraid I was going to transform into a human right on front of everyone. I could had transformed into more than that, but I needn't worry you with that. However, this might mark the end of our midnight talks.... but I'm not sure. Also, I'm still blind. If we stick to our little talks, it would be alright... but if we met in the day..."  
  
He moved in closer. "Uriko... would you like someone who could not see? How would you treat me if you knew me? How could I live in your world?"  
  
"Kenji...."  
"I was a little 'out' for last few hours and this place is obviously different. Are we near the strawberry farm?"  
"We're not going there," the girl mumbled, "Mom's taking us to work with her. She has to stay at this hotel a lot 'cause she's often away for work."  
"I see. I don't think you've ever told me exactly what she does."  
"She works at the bank at Tylon. She's in charge of a lot."  
Kenji's sightless eyes widened in shock.  
"T...Tylon..."  
That was from where Kenji came, it was the people the Clan of the Soil had served since nobody knows when. From Tylon, foggy and faded memories had been returning to him from the past. It was where The Doctor was always sticking needles in him and where he would have a long sleep and wake up in a tank or on a table. It was where there were people in cages, and very strange and frightening monsters in some. It was a place full of killers, including himself. This was perhaps the only reason he had ever actually stepped foot outside of Tylon.   
  
Her mother worked there? What if The Doctor got to her? Sometimes, the people in the white coats who did things to him became subjects themselves. What if what happened to that blond man happened to her?  
  
He grabbed onto the sides of Uriko's arms. "Uriko.... don't... go there. Please. Don't go anywhere near Tylon, do you hear me?"  
"Kenji, why?"  
  
"Tylon's a horrible place. Whatever you do, please don't go there. Don't let them take you....."  
Kenji's hands were shaking. "Don't let them take me... I don't want to go back..."  
  
The condition in which he had been for the past hours had brought back something from his forgetful mind. His very first transformation had felt like that. It was after The Doctor fixed the master's eyes. Though his master protested, the higher authority allowed The Doctor to force out the gene hidden within him using the experimental methods he had been testing. To the Kato School of Ninjutsu, the first transformation of a disciple was a major turning point in his life. It normally was brought out with the other changes from child to adult of adolescence, as during that time a person had the reason and will to summon such forces. The Clan of the Soil promoted an earlier transformation. Early first transformations were signs of a gifted child. In training, when Kenji was completely spent and barely able to fight any further, the master would try to provoke him to summon his transformation. It was a little ironic that these were times when his master tried to bring out Kenji's emotions, when normally his emotions were something that would hold an assassin back.  
The Doctor hooked him up to machines to monitor him and gave him all sorts of shots. He had gone into a fit similar to the one he had entered before. He shivered and twitched and writhed about and called out names and cried. He acted in a pitiful way on front of his master. He had been shamed in front of his master.   
  
They had changed him into a monster.  
  
He clutched himself and shook once more from memories and the prospect of returning, or at least he started to do so. Something broke his train of thought. He turned his focus to where outside the window was.  
Something's out there.... Could it be...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"I'm not going!"  
"Uriko, be reasonable...."  
"You and Alice go. I'm staying here."  
"I can't just leave you here alone, Uriko."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"This is really sucks! I really hate my life! Do you have any idea how frustrating this is?"  
"I know.." Uriko mumbled sadly, clutching her knapsack, which held some various items, including her own Mister Mole, whom she refused to leave at the hotel. Little did she know there was something very unusual tucked away at the bottom.   
  
Alice had her head turned away from Uriko, with whom she was walking through The Plum Tree Shopping Center. The two had decided to take public transportation to a mall rather far away to do something for the day.  
"Mom even said her job might take a nurse in training to help with their medical research, but you had to go and ruin that chance for me."  
Her sister shyly replied, "But... Tylon's a bad place...."  
"Why. WHY is it a bad place? Can you tell me that?"   
Uriko averted her gaze.  
"But... it's a bad place..."   
Alice gave a hefty, fed up sigh.  
  
"I should be studying medicine right now. I should be far away from home in the country's best medical college. They say I'm gifted! They say I could be a great help to the world! But I have to stay home and keep an eye on you because Mom's job (which is supposed to be stable) is all weird."  
The younger decided to suggest they separate for a while (to allow Alice to cool off). After a little discussing the matter, Alice agreed. Then, Alice decided to take the idea a little further: perhaps Uriko could go home all by herself and thus prove herself to their mother. The would just say they got lost along the way somewhere and it got so late, each of them figured the other had gone home by herself and decided to do the same. Sure, it was risky and a really stupid thing to do to be truthful, and Mother would surely yell at them with a vengeance afterwards...   
"...but the fact that you can get around on your own without me will be in her head!"  
"Well.... I guess...." It was not like Alice to be this risky. Still, both were willing for a little time to herself.   
"Great!" Alice bumped in so Uriko would not change her mind (she was incredibly desperate for time by herself without the cause of her problems), "I'll see you at home, then! You'll remember the directions, right?"  
"....right."  
  
Uriko proceeded to have a rather nice day with Mister Mole, windowshopping with her buddy snuck in her bag. At many clothes shops, she tried on many different outfits and pretended her little friend was giving his opinions on her choices. The two searched every toy store and nature store and little stand for a plush mole, but, sadly, there was none to be found. She tested the video games with her mole peeking quietly out of her bag to cheer her on. When she bought herself a large cookie as a snack, her bag started to squeak, much to the confusion of passers-by. More than once, Uriko could have sworn that when she started to dig around the depths of her knapsack for her wallet, Mister Mole handed it to her.  
She was enjoying an ice cream cone, giving her pet a chance at a little lick every now and then-it was the mole's idea- when she got a chance to look at a clock. It was probably time to start heading back. She stepped outside the mall and carefully made her way through the parking lot to head back to the train station.   
  
There's nobody around.... It's so silent...  
  
Her bag at that moment started to squeak and she could feel movement inside. The girl almost tore the bag open. Was her pet still not better? To her surprise, the tiny creature practically flew out of her knapsack.   
  
Where did he land?  
  
The mole came out and onto the ground landed... a boy? He was rather muscular, and he looked somewhat emaciated. His pale skin bore a few thin, almost-healed cuts. This person had a delicate, young face bearing a serious expression with thin lips pressed firmly and dull, yellow eyes. His head was covered in dark brown hair with urge to be slightly airborne that fell mostly to one side before flying up.  
  
It would have been easier to notice all of those features if it was not for the fact that this mysterious person had no clothes.  
She had little time to ponder this before he grabbed her and had leapt far away within less than a second of a loud crash. Uriko turned her head and saw some figure still somewhat in a kicking position in the pavement. She wanted to see who the attacker was, but the boy placed a hand over her eyes and held her tightly. He had a very strong grip for such a lightweight.  
  
"Oho... I see you want her to live..." a smooth older male voice crooned.  
"I'm not going back." was the reply.  
"I don't know if I can count on that.... you've been in trouble before and they've always found a way to bring you back."  
"I won't let you take me back."  
There was a pause before their attacker spoke once more, sounding very annoyed and insulted. "Don't you recognize me, kid? Or are you and everyone else so infatuated with your pretty face you've forgotten all about me?"  
  
The younger sighed and his grip noticeably loosened.  
"I can barely remember anything now. Besides, I'm blind."  
"All the easier for me, I suppose. Die."  
All the naked boy's captive could hear was a single slight tap of their assailant's feet. The youth who seemed to be on her side, however, could hear him fly towards him and feel the change in the air. He jumped back and narrowly missed another destructive kick, this sweeping sideways to put a huge dent in an expensive-looking car.  
He proceeded to attack with quicker kicks, forcing the dodging boy backwards as he became more and more focused. All thought left his mind except the fighting instincts. Dodging those kicks was nothing.  
Unfortunately, it completely consumed his mind so he did not see the end of the parking lot coming. The rest of reality came zooming right back when he lost his footing on the edge of the parking lot. Like an amateur in his first fight, the "perfect assassin" comically struggled to keep his balance before he fell backwards. The two rolled down the steep hillside, which was covered in thick plants and rocks and bumps until they became hidden in the shrubbery at the foot of the hill. There was only a slight yelp from Uriko, but otherwise complete silence and stillness reigned for the next few minutes.  
"How disappointing..."   
The Fox leapt into a patch of green and then leapt right out. Blood dripped down his otherwise perfect right leg. It was more trouble than it was worth, he decided.   
"I don't know why I'm so nice to you, kid," he said quietly, mostly to himself, "but this is your last chance. I've given you too many chances to get out of my face. Come back, and I swear I'll get ugly on you when I next get the chance."  
The Fox gazed back at the greenery a little while more to make sure there was still no sign of life or movement. He casually turned to leave and make an unseen escape.  
"You know I don't like getting ugly, dragon brat...." 


	5. Let's Go Home

I probably should have waited longer to put this up, but... oh well! It's going up anyway! Yay.  
  
I'll probably regret this chapter in the next three days.... but then again, I could always redo it, right? Right?  
  
Still having computer problems. This evil clone computer I'm forced to use is now at least a little better.... it's got Kenji on the desktop! Cute moles make the world better.  
  
I don't think She-Whom-I-Am-Certainly-Not-Stalking knew that when I get obsessed.... I'm obsessed. Shallow ol' me thinks of nothing else.  
  
About the rating change... I didn't do it because of the few naughty words in this chapter; it's about something coming up.  
  
Then again, you folk don't pay any attention to the ratings, do you ^X^?  
  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
  
She never thought her sister would turn up missing like this without at least calling mother on her cellular phone. It was half past ten and Uriko still had not arrived. Alice had hoped that she would return to the hotel before her mother, who was coming home late tonight, would find out if she had been lost or late at all.  
  
She was sure to give her one hell of a speech over this.  
  
What if Uriko never came back? What if she got completely lost or was robbed or kidnapped or worse?  
  
Alice began to nervously bite at the skin around her nails and to anticipate the worst possible scenarios.  
  
Footsteps that only belonged to one person could be heard outside and Mitsuko opened the door, announcing her arrival.  
  
What would she do?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
She was surrounded by green and a clear starry sky hung above her. Some of the green plants around her were kind of prickly and others had her caught in their tangled mess. She had quite a few scratches and scrapes and bruises from tumbling through those plants and over all those rocks. Then, she noticed she was in somebody's arms.  
  
"Kyaaaaaaaa!'  
  
Uriko started struggling, but the tangled plants held her more or less in place. The boy woke up with a start and latched onto Uriko's sides without thinking.  
  
"Uriko! What's wrong? What's going on?"  
  
"Get off! Let go of me, pervert!"  
  
"Pervert..." he pondered before realizing the form he had at the moment. The struggling girl slammed into the ground when the "pervert" seemed to vanish. There was a muffled squeak from underneath her body. Uriko snatched up her mole and glanced around frantically for her assailant. She could have stood up to run, but she was still rather tangled up.  
  
"Where'd he go?"  
  
She tried to untangle herself with her free hand so she could make a break for it, but her efforts were mostly in vain. Many of the plants in this vacant area were tough and thick vines, so all she could do was try to slip out of them. In her panic, she was mostly getting herself entangled all over again in what could easily be escaped with a little concentration.  
  
Suddenly, Uriko found the arm clutching her pet close to her was wrapped around something significantly larger. She started entangling herself yet again trying to get away from the pervert from before, who had somehow gotten into her grasp. He reached out to find her with his hands and touched her in the wrong places.  
  
"Hold still."  
  
She only let out another shriek and pushed him away before getting up, mostly free from the vines. Her legs were still stuck and she fell right over. The panicked girl could feel his hands feeling around on her feet and legs.  
  
"I really didn't want to do this," he sighed.  
  
"No! No, no! Don't!"  
  
"Please stop struggling. You're making this difficult for me."  
  
Uriko kicked her legs up furiously to get those hands of his off them. She was still desperately trying to find someway to escape.  
  
"I should hope so! I'm not gonna just sit here and let you have your way with me!"  
  
"....... I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but could you just hold still so I can-"  
  
"Make me!" She savagely dared, thrashing all the more.  
  
Before she knew it, he climbed up and completely placed his own body on top of hers to stop her.  
  
Oh, no... He's got me.  
  
"Please, I'm only trying to help you."  
  
Uriko hissed through her teeth, "What the hell are you saying?"  
  
"You're tangled up. Some person just tried to kill us both. We're far from home and I think it's late."  
  
Her mind found a way to calm down somewhat and she thought back to the mall and the preceding events. It seemed like a dream now, but she remembered the man out to kill the boy who had just appeared, who saved her from being killed along with him.  
  
"Y-you're that guy from before. You saved me from that weirdo in the parking lot."  
  
There was a sigh before a sad-sounding answer. "That's right. I'm sorry about falling into here. I'm blind and I get a little strange when I'm focused like that."  
  
"You're blind...?"  
  
She rolled over onto her back so she could see his face more clearly and he loosened his grasp to allow her. Indeed, his eyes looked like none she had ever seen before. They were the faintest shade of yellow and dead, clouded, and not focused onto her face. She stared up at him, her chest heaving. The tension from before had died down somewhat, but there was still some kind of tension in the air.  
  
"Who are you?" she breathed  
  
"Please call me Kenji. That is the name I have chosen."  
  
Kenji? That name was so familiar! It was on the back of her mind somehow, even though she had not known anyone who went by that name. This was like some sort of dream, the way she felt she knew him somehow.  
  
"I trust you won't run off if I let you go?"  
  
She nodded and Kenji got off her and into a sitting position. He then felt around for the vines around her legs and started ripping them apart like paper.  
  
Finally, she asked him why he had no clothes. Kenji merely told her he would rather not explain that right now, but there was a small package in her knapsack she could get for him. It was a compressed change of clothes. This brought her into an offensive stance again.  
  
"And what are your clothes doing in my bag? And where have you been this whole time without them?"  
  
"Please hand me my clothes."  
  
"You're not getting squat until you give me some answers!"  
  
Those sightless eyes carried such a sad gaze. "Do you really want to know?" he asked in defeat. He then let off a little light and energy and seemed to disappear once more.  
  
"Eh? Can you turn invisible?"  
  
"... Squeak...."  
  
It was Mister Mole. Uriko started putting the pieces together in her head, but they formed a picture that seemed strange enough to only be a fantasy. She merely stared at the furry rodent for a while. It was a bit much to comprehend. Her mind remained in a state of disbelief and something was switched off in her brain to cope with it.  
  
A human had just turned into a mole and back in front of her eyes. The mole was her mole, the one for whom she had cared all this time.  
  
"This would really change things, I suppose. I really don't think you'd want me to still be your pet if you know this."  
  
The wide-eyed and spaced out Uriko stiffly patted his head. "That's okay, Mister Mole," she mumbled blankly in a drained voice, "here.... Why don't you put on your clothes...? It's cold out..."  
  
Kenji retrieved a small red package from her bag. When he pressed the little button on it, it practically exploded and out came his outfit: A sleeveless ragged yellow top with pants of the same color and leg guards and black sandals complete with a long, red scarf and finger less gloves, among other things. He only put on what he had to put on to cover himself, leaving his protective gear, scarf and gloves in his keeper's bag.  
  
"What's with the outfit? What, are you a ninja or something?"  
  
She was right on target.  
  
"Well.... I'd much rather not talk about that right now. This is my only change of clothes."  
  
When he was finished dressing himself, the two made their way to the edge of the lot of weeds and to a road that was more like a highway. It seemed empty, but like many highways, the cars approach right as one is crossing.  
  
Quite a few delinquents had been drinking that night and were driving well above the speed limit. When one of the cars' drivers finally realized there was a person he had to dodge, he swerved wildly. Uriko was caught like a deer in the headlights.  
  
Just then, like earlier in the parking lot, she found herself suddenly being grabbed and carried off with the ninja's leap well above the car. He landed onto the moving vehicle and flipped off the roof and landed onto the road, where leapt once more to the side to avoid another drunk driver's car. He ran onto the sidewalk to safely.  
  
Then he ran right into a streetlight.  
  
"Oh!"  
  
"I... I'm okay, I'm okay! It's just a bump. It figures - I can't hear it 'cause it doesn't move."  
  
He put her down.  
  
"You're going to have to be my eyes, Uriko."  
  
She looked around nervously. She told him she had never been in this area before. They were in an area rather close to a more condensed and urban section of the city, where people lived close together in apartment buildings, some older and smaller than others.  
  
"What about public transportation?"  
  
"Ah! That's right! I think I have enough money on my card..."  
  
Uriko triumphantly looked though her bag, only to find that somebody must have stolen her wallet. This was bad. Perhaps they could try to find a police station?  
  
"I guess we'll have to walk home... and I don't know what direction that is..."  
  
"Don't worry. I'm sure my nose will find something familiar."  
  
Immediately her pet put said nose into action and sniffed the air like a dog. He sniffed here and there and walked up a few blocks as he followed a specific scent. Uriko followed him, eager to know what had caught his interest.  
  
"Hmm... Barbecue sauce... it's the secret formula.."  
  
She nearly slammed into the brick wall next to her.  
  
"Well, that's a big help!"  
  
"But I know this smell... I think I encountered it a lot for some reason. I can't quite remember, though.... oh!"  
  
"What is it? What is it?"  
  
"It's near home.... I'm going home!"  
  
"What?"  
  
Kenji was now incredibly excited for some reason. He was only barely sure why, but he knew he was on the verge of remembering something so crucial and important. The beginnings of a smile were playing on his lips. He snatched up Uriko's hand and began to break out into a run, following only his nose.  
  
"We're going home, come on!"  
  
"Hey, where are you taking me?"  
  
"Home, we're going home! I haven't been home since... since.... well, I don't know and I don't really remember what it's like, but I want to be there."  
  
He continued to speed up as if home would run away if it knew he was coming. Uriko tailed behind him.  
  
"Hey, wait up! Kenjiiiii...."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Saturday Night - the perfect night to be up late with people, or so society dictated. Then again, it was a stupid rule that only applied to the people with the money and time to spend on socializing and partying. What did it matter, really? When spending time with someone doing the typical, one finds he can understand the tradition that follows it.  
  
It was a beautiful night and he was out on a date with whom some considered a temptress. They had just eaten out on the sidewalk tables, and he was now was walking down the street, arm in arm, with his date. He did not often have the chance to do this. He was content. What a great night.  
  
Plus, the moon was going to be full pretty soon. Such beauty that celestial body always had, especially at the time of the month when it was a full, glowing jewel. He would always be out on that night, gazing at it in its radiant beauty. Its white light touched something within him, something resting deep within him.  
  
"Staring at the moon again?" a shapely blond woman linked to him by the arm teased, "You should be staring at something else, if you ask me."  
  
"Ah, Jen... Can't you understand? It's in my blood. My father and my grandparents and their parents- they all worshipped the moon. Jenny, you also love the night, so don't you like the moon?"  
  
"It's pretty, but I'm not nearly as crazed about it as you."  
  
"The moon... on a clear night, it's all I ever think about. It's so clear and beautiful... I just want to call out to it, you know what I mean?"  
  
His date glanced up at him with a knowing smile.  
  
"Not at all. I just love the dark and the starry night sky."  
  
He sighed. "Moon... stars.... Ah, hell! I guess they're close enough, eh?"  
  
Jenny suddenly stopped walking and made her date turn around to face her her. "Perhaps you should come back to earth for a moment. We must spend your short time with me wisely."  
  
"Oh, and just what do you suggest we do?" he responded with a wide joking grin.  
  
Jenny grasped his shoulders with her slender fingers and brought herself closer him. She moved in to answer with actions instead of words. Her lips were aimed right for his neck.  
  
Unfortunately arms seemed to pop out of nowhere and wrap themselves around her target without warning.  
  
"Big brother!"  
  
"What the fuck?" The man tore off the sudden intruder and put him on front of him.  
  
"What the hell is your problem?"  
  
It was some teenager in very strange clothes. His face had a confused expression and he gave him a sniff.  
  
"You're... not my big brother? But you smell just like him..."  
  
One hand reached up for his face and under the large sunglasses he wore. The teenager's fingertips found the large X-shaped scar on his nose bridge right between his eyes.  
  
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"  
  
"... it is you. Big brother..."  
  
Then, he heard panting and rapid footsteps and the voice of a girl the same who had to be about age.  
  
"Kenjiii.... Kenjiii...."  
  
She ran up and bent over to catch her breath.  
  
"Kenji, you almost got me killed trying to follow you!"  
  
"Kenji...?"  
  
The man carefully studied his face and recognized some of his defining features. He examined his outfit and noted his sense of smell.  
  
"It is you..."  
  
Now he was the one pull off a surprise embrace. He had a much larger frame and body and his arms wrapped pretty much completely around the smaller Kenji. He gave him a fierce hug and waved him back and forth and mussed up his hair while he was at it.  
  
"It is you! Shit, Kenji! Where have you been all this time?"  
  
"Who is is this?" both females present asked simultaneously.  
  
"This is my little brother, Kenji!" the larger stated proudly.  
  
"He's big brother Yugo..." the smaller whispered happily, smiling for first time in a very, very long time. 


	6. Big Brother Yugo

Yay. It's really late an' stuff... but I finished this chapter.   
  
Huzzah.  
/\/\/\/\/\  
"Big brother Yugo" unlocked the door to his apartment and swung it open. The neighborhood used to be poor and run down, but now it was rather costly to live there, although it was still rather dingy and run down. It was a good house for a couple, and perhaps a third person. The dining room was the kitchen, which had a shower in one corner, and there was a larger room in one direction and a smaller, narrow room in the other. One had to pass through the smaller room to reach the toilet.   
Before that, there had been some trouble with the woman who was with him when Yugo decided to take the two of them home. He sighed, knowing this was the beginning of the end. "Damn...." he whispered, "and that one was hot, too..."  
Uriko stood just outside the doorway and still tortured herself over all the reasons why one should never go with strangers and why one should NEVER enter the house of one. After all, she had been well versed in the rules regarding strangers since kindergarten. Perhaps it would be best to leave now, she thought to herself. She slowly started to edge backwards when Kenji grabbed her hand, inviting, "Come, Uriko. Now you can stay at our house," and he dragged her inside and shut the door.  
  
I'm dead, her conscience moaned.  
"Make yourselves at home."  
He kicked aside some rubbish and motioned towards the dinner table and then prepared some instant ramen noodles from packages heavily covered in dust. " I'm going to call the police, okay? Here's something to eat. God knows how old those noodles are, though....."  
  
Yugo simply grabbed the phone on the wall and took a number out of his wallet for dialing. It took a while for the other line to pick up.  
"Hello? I know what time it is. Well, you told me to call you at this number as soon as Kenji comes home. Yeah, that's right. Kenji came back. He's changed a bit, but I'm pretty sure it's him. What? Well, for one thing he's brought somebody with him. I haven't really asked- he just got here. Hmm? He's wearing another weird outfit, and..."  
  
Uriko and Kenji sat quietly at the table, doing their own things. Well, it would have been quiet without the loud noises Kenji made slurping up noodles and miso broth. Uriko was severely doubting that strange man was calling the police. The younger brother then stopped to ask, "You aren't hungry, Uriko?"  
"Huh?"  
"Considering you ate a one-serving box of cereal for breakfast, and at the mall you had a soda and a chocolate chip cookie... and then you had small cone of strawberry ice cream... I'd think you'd be hungry."  
"H-how did you know that?"  
"I was there," he replied simply, "I heard you make the orders. You let me eat some of your cookie and ice cream."  
  
She nodded nervously. "R..right."  
  
She looked down at the steaming bowl of noodle soup which called her to eat it. She explained she did not want to accept food from strangers. But he was big brother Yugo, Kenji reasoned as if it was the best reason on earth to back up an argument, she could trust big brother Yugo.  
Then, said big brother Yugo butted in. "Oi, he's coming over right away. He seemed rather interested in you," he said, addressing Uriko. He smiled at her. "So, Kenji... who's your friend?"  
Kenji sat up straight and faced towards Yugo's voice. "This is is Uriko Nonomura."  
"Well done, Kenji! You got yourself a cute one. I knew you would." he said with a bit of a grin as he messed up his dark hair yet again. He reached out one hand for the typical handshake. "I'm Yugo Ogami... but I suppose you already knew that."  
  
She just stared at him. "Who are you supposed to be?" Was he a famous pimp?  
  
There was a moment of silence and an uneasiness passed though the air among them. Yugo looked firmly at the younger boy. "Kenji... What the hell kind of girl is this?" he hissed in a solemn voice.  
  
"Big brother Yugo.... you're angry...?" Kenji's face and voice reflected such devastation it caught both of them off guard. He quickly told him he was just fooling around while Uriko asked again who he was.  
  
"I got a freaking X in the middle of my face, and nobody recognizes me... Look, I don't expect a girl like you to be into boxing, but that's what I do. I'm not a really big boxer, but I have my fans.... or at least I like to tell myself I do. Tch. I'm stupid. I'm ugly. I've got a nasty scar. No wonder I haven't had a decent girlfriend in years."  
  
The dark haired boy piped in that he thought Yugo was handsome. "One: You're blind. Two: I'd rather hear that from a cute girl," was the reply. Kenji turned to the cute girl next to him and asked her if she thought Yugo was handsome. Yugo moaned.  
"But... you said she was cute," the confused Kenji told him.  
"Not your girlfriend, bonehead!"  
Kenji was just about to question why he called her his girlfriend, Uriko exclaimed, "I'm not his girlfriend! I just met him! I don't even know what's going on-"  
  
The ear-splitting buzzer paused the conversation. Yugo answered the door. In stepped a very large and muscular older man who had a scar over one eye, a very grim face, and blond hair which stood on end. He was Alan Gado, a head investigator whom Yugo had called. He had with him a doctor and another investigator. He made motions to close the door, but his host got to it before he did and closed it quietly.  
"Is that..."  
"That's him."  
The three men walked up to Kenji and examined him intently. Their subject just sat in place and let them do their job. After a while, he turned towards a familiar voice and scent.   
  
"Inspector Gado?"  
"Yeah, it's your old friend, Inspector Gado. So you can speak now."  
"That's right."  
"Well, then. Since Doctor Zuiichi has confirmed you are the Kenji from before... are you willing to talk to us?"  
".... what do you want me to talk about?"  
Alan Gado turned to Yugo and Uriko and asked them if they could step into the next room for the moment. He was going to interrogate the boy. Yugo complied, though he still complained about all the secrecy with Gado and Kenji. Uriko wanted to head for the room at the other end of the kitchen, but she was forced into the narrower room with Yugo (exactly what she was trying to avoid). The three men and their subject stepped into the larger room. One of them took out a portable white noise machine and set it down next to the door before closing it.  
"Always so private. What the hell's wrong with the kid? He's some sort of alien, isn't he? Seriously."  
The narrower room was barely big enough for the bed and shelves and the room one needed to walk from one side to the other. The bed, which had drawers built into it, was made with a patchwork quilt on top and a rather old looking plush wolf leaned against the pillow. There was a strip of border wallpaper around the middle of the walls with a design showing the phases of the moon. The shelves held many books and a schoolbag lay at the end of one. There were a few models and pictures which looked hand made and they all looked like they were made by the same person.  
Yugo sat down on the bed. Uriko continued to stand by the door.  
"Yeah, this is Kenji's room. I've kept it with all his things in case he came back.... So. What's the thing with you and Kenji?"  
"I'm not even sure myself. I just want to know what's going on here."  
"Well, I've been wanting to tell someone all about Kenji. Wouldja like me to tell you about 'im?"  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
These were strange times. There had been strange occurrences and events speculated to be terrorist actions popping up all around the city. Police, especially specific officers, would storm into areas where such things were happening and withhold any information. Such strange happenings had the city worried and put the civilians more against the police.   
  
Yugo Ogami, a 17-year-old youth with ragged brown hair that fell to either side of his head, had dropped out of high school not long before. He was an aspiring boxer, though his parents probably would have been strongly against such choices. Then again, his parents had died long before. They used to live way outside of the city in the countryside where the sky was clear and the wolves' howls could be heard at night before whatever happened to them happened. Nearly everything of his past was destroyed, save for a few items. He changed the family tradition by moving into the city to take up the career he chose.  
One day, the news on his radio had been interrupted. There had recently been an explosion and fire at the Tylon Corporation Complex. The flames were still raging and smoke and debris clouded everything. Part of the smallest building at the complex had collapsed. Yugo turned up the volume on his headphones. That was not all too far away! On the radio and by word of mouth came news of "monsters" roaming the streets. The people were in a panic and the phone lines became jammed. Nearest to the complex the streets were filled with people and the neighborhoods in the surrounding radius were following suit. Yugo could have sworn he saw something large and furry zoom by him on occasion, but he supposed it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.  
  
Then, he saw something obviously real. It was a child, slowly trudging along the sidewalk. He wore a rather unusual yellow outfit, which was torn and soiled. His dark hair was matted and blood ran down his face and right arm, which hung loosely to one side. The young boy slightly hunched over as he limped and running people occasionally bumped into him. He did not seem to notice and he just kept on walking.  
  
Then, he turned his head towards Yugo, surprising him a little. His dazed eyes with their dilated pupils gave a very vacant stare. Something passed between them for a few seconds and all seemed to grow quiet.   
"A...are you-"  
The boy took another step towards him and a sickening crack echoed through the air. He collapsed into a heap on the ground. His taxed left leg's bone had finally broken in two. Yugo immediately swooped down to pick him up. The child still gave little response all this time. He breathed and his empty eyes looked around a little, but that was all he did. Yugo began to head for a payphone to call an ambulance, but he then saw the chaos growing in the streets.  
  
I can't stay here, Yugo told himself. He decided to go home.   
  
When he arrived at the apartment, he lay the dazed youth on his bed. The next step was to call the hospital. Unfortunately, all the telephone lines were still jammed. What was he to do about those injuries?  
  
Still, Yugo Ogami was a boxer, and, as a boxer, he received his share of injuries. He had some medical supplies on him, though he had no clue as to what to do about broken bones. Where was a doctor when a person needed one? "Look, kid, I'm just going to do what I can, okay?" he said as an apology as he approached the bed with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and gauze and bandages. He at least bandaged up the nasty wounds on his head and the various injuries on his body. In the process, he removed the tattered clothes he currently had on and replaced them with one of his T-shirts, which fit like a nightgown on the child's small frame. His patient's eyes followed Yugo's actions, but there was still little response from him. There was no further success with calling the hospital and there was nothing he knew how to do with his broken limbs.   
~~~~~~~~~  
When Yugo awoke the next day, he felt rather stiff and uncomfortable, having sat beside his bed keeping watch over the child he had found. Said child was awake, cringing and gripping his arm. His yellow eyes had returned to a more normal state and he was obviously now conscious of his surroundings.  
"Hey... are you okay?"  
He faced him, bearing a confused look. Yugo simply ruffled his patient's hair as he stood up to head towards the phone.   
"You got some really bad injuries. Where'd they come from?"  
The boy started to open his mouth, but then he appeared to come to sort of realization and he looked down sadly.  
"Eh? What's wrong?"  
He just looked more guilty.  
"Well, I'm going to call an ambulance so we can take care of those bones, okay? It's going to alright, so don't worry." Yugo proceeded to go to the kitchen to make another call, but when he flipped the light switch, nothing came on.   
"Ah, shit. If it's not one thing, it's the other. There must have been some serious riots or something last night."  
  
Next some clumsy searching for information, which needed to be viewed by the window to be understood. Then Yugo, carrying a blanket, came to the wounded boy, who was still gripping his arm, which seemed to be causing him even more pain. What was he trying to do?  
"You really shouldn't do that..."  
The boy just firmly glanced at him and then turned his focus back on his harm. Yugo then got an idea. It took a lot more fumbling around in the dark, but he found for what he was looking..  
"Here, kid, hold onto this," he said, shoving an old plush wolf doll into his good arm. The boy, taken a little aback by the action, looked at it strangely.  
"There ya go. Give Loopy a big hug (or something)!" The strange look now faced Yugo. He kept the odd look, gently nodded and clutched it towards his chest, wondering if that was what he wanted him to do.  
  
That taken care of, Yugo wrapped the blanket around him, took him up in his arms, and carried him off to the hospital he had looked up. He talked to the child along the way and tried to get him to tell him what had happened, but he only got stares for replies. It was rather frustrating. Little did he know how long the frustrating silence would last.  
When he told the people at the waiting room about the drugged out state he had been in, they rushed him into the emergency room. Yugo set him down on the table, but a hand still clenched his shirt. Yellow eyes looked around nervously at the white walls and the people white coats. When the term "doctor" was mentioned, he pulled himself towards Yugo as if to say, "protect me."  
"Uhh... I guess I'll tag along, then?"  
  
It took a lot of effort to finally get a needle into his body for a blood sample. If one thing was obvious, it was that this boy had a fear or shots (but then again, that was normal for children). Then, they had to get him to stay still for the X-rays. What a hassle! Putting on the casts was not as big a problem, fortunately.  
  
"Is this the one, doctor?" a gruff voice they had not heard before asked. Everyone jumped when he loudly slammed the door behind him.  
"That's right, Inspector Gado," a nurse answered.  
The man walked up the young lad.   
"So you say there are unidentifiable substances in his body?"  
"Right. They're no drugs we know of."  
"....And who's this idiot over here?"  
"He brought him here."  
The man stood walked up to him. "And you are...."  
"I'm Yugo Ogami."  
"'Ogami?' I once knew someone with that name. A rather intellectual man, he was. Anyway, this is does not concern you and the boy will be alright."  
"....eh?"  
"You may leave, Yugo Ogami. We will handle the rest."  
Yugo bent down to look the troubled boy in the face. "Well, kid," he chirped while ruffling his hair again, "I guess this is-"  
"Achem!"  
"Alright! Alright! I'm leaving already! Ya don't hafta..."   
The door was slammed behind him after he stepped out. It hit him on the rear in the process.  
"... grouch."  
  
A blond girl who looked about fourteen years old ran up, excitedly asking, "Daddy, what-"  
She realized she was talking to the wrong person. Her face became stern, like the inspector's and she turned away and resumed pacing up and down the hallway.  
"Nothing."  
  
Exasperated, he looked up to the ceiling with a hefty sigh.  
"Sheesh! Nobody's happy to see me... Why do I even bother?"  
~~~~~~~  
A week later, Yugo received a phone call from the hospital. They wanted him to come over immediately. It had to do with the child. He rushed over immediately. What was wrong? They explained that not only had he not spoken once, but he barely ate and showed hardly any response to the doctors and police. Perhaps Yugo would cheer him up.   
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Well, we've asked him questions and he's replied by taking his finger and doing this," a nurse explained, making a criss-cross motion over his face to demonstrate, "we finally figured he was trying to tell us about you. No offense, Mr. Ogami, but that is a rather unique mark you have."  
"I'll say. So where is he?"  
The nurse showed him to the children's room. There he was, sitting in one corner by himself with Loopy in his good arm. Immediately, his face snapped forward and he started to get up. Yugo explained it was okay and sat down beside him.   
  
"Why don't you play with the other kids? You look lonely."  
"......"  
"Or is Loopy keeping you company?"  
"......"  
"Err.... My Pop gave Loopy to me. What was that name again? Right, he liked to call him Mr. Lupus. Mr. Canis Lupus was his name. I named him Loopy for short."  
"....."  
  
This kid is seriously wierding me out, Yugo thought. He looked around the room and found the game shelf.  
  
"Say, You wanna play checkers? It's not that hard."  
He brought out the board and quickly explained the rules to him. The younger beat him five times in a row. Then, Yugo brought out the mancala set. He was beaten in record timing. They brought out game after game after game and Yugo lost every time.   
  
Yugo was tired of playing games.  
  
"Say, kid... they tell me you still haven't told them your name yet. I mean, can't you write it down or something?"  
"......"  
"Geh. You need a name. Would you like a nickname?"  
"......" This time, the boy looked up at him and nodded.  
"Great! Let's see. Mike? Tama? No good. I'm not that great with names."   
He sighed and scratched his head.  
"I dunno....... 'Kenji?'"  
As if he was contemplating the name, he mouthed it out on his lips.  
"So is 'Kenji' okay with you?"  
The boy nodded.  
  
"Right then! From now on, your name is Kenji... unless you decide you don't like it anymore or something... Umm... Yeah!"  
  
After that, Yugo frequently visited "Kenji" at the hospital, bringing him gifts and playing and walking around the hospital with him. He still never spoke. Once someone asked them if the two of them were brothers since they were always together when he saw them. Yugo gladly replied the affirmative, much to the confusion of his "little brother."  
  
Then came the day when he would have to leave the hospital.  
  
The broken arm and leg and healed remarkably quickly and the strange substances in his blood had faded away. Gado and other officials were going to take him into their care. For some reason, Inspector Gado was always so interested in him and his conditions. Kenji stayed as far away from them as possible, repeatedly displaying his way of requesting Yugo. When the final day came, Yugo himself was present. Kenji was stubbornly latched onto him.  
"Come on, kid..."   
One of the officers reached for him. Kenji ducked under his arm and punched him in the stomach and then leaped up and kicked him away. The next came running and the small child grabbed him by the arm and flung him against the next officer who came up. He then ran back to behind Yugo and once again clung to his clothes.  
  
"H-he-hey, what are you expecting me to do?" he stammered nervously.  
More officers got ready to gang up on him, but Gado told them not to. He said he could sympathized with Yugo and there was not anything they could do.  
  
So, with the help of a few loopholes, Yugo adopted him. Using what was salvageable from the ruins of his parents' old house all those years ago, namely the old quilt and the roll of leftover moon patterned wallpaper used in his old room, Yugo set up a room for Kenji, where he lived for the next five years.  
Yugo had to work his butt off, what with the specialty school Kenji was attending. Even though Kenji was physically capable of speech, nothing could get him to use that gift. He was, however, undoubtedly intelligent. He fit rather well into a school of deaf and mute children. Kenji even learned sign language, but he used that only when completely necessary (not such a bad thing, considering Yugo could never get the hang of it). With the exceptions of a few letters and notes, Kenji barely communicated more than was necessary to Yugo. The few times Kenji did smile or express his feelings in some form were priceless.  
He did manage to find out a few things about his little brother, like... say.... the fact that he liked noodles (Yugo was never too hot about those) and that he liked to hide. He would turn up missing and would appear huddled in a cupboard or something. Okay, so Kenji still withheld held a lot from him. That did not bother him all that much, since he seemed to be content with his situation.  
  
However, the constant silence did get to him. In fact, one time he got so angry with Kenji...  
Kenji left. Such a moron! He knew how Kenji looked at him when he even raised his voice, and he still let himself get that angry that one night...   
  
He checked everywhere and he was gone. He searched the neighborhood and he was gone. He tore apart he city and he was gone. Gado wanted to strangle Yugo for letting such a case get away, but he didn't care. Kenji was gone.  
  
He skipped out on a dangerous amount of boxing matches and stayed at home as the unpaid bills poured in, still hoping his brother would return. He even tidied up his room and stocked the shelves with Kenji's favorite foods just in case he came back.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
The interview had finished. Although Kenji could now speak, he had apparently given them an upsettingly small amount of the kind of information they wanted. Gado wanted to interrogate Uriko, but it was well past three o' clock in the morning.  
"Pumpkin will have my head if she finds out I've been out this late. We'll save this for later."  
"Wait, what about me?" Uriko reminded, "my mom must be worried sick about me."  
"Sorry, Miss Nonomura, but that will have to wait. This is a very serious case, you see. So you'll stay here until we decide what to do with you, since you're an important witness. Good night."  
The conversation abruptly ended with Gado slamming the door shut.  
"What's that guy's problem?" Yugo whispered after a few seconds. 


	7. Bedtime

Sheesh, this chapter is all dialogue, isn't it? Too much dialogue is one of my faults, ya know.  
  
I love reading reviews so much, I decided to write another chapter! Please leave your reviews! Even if I'm stalking you, please leave a review!  
Stalk...?  
Oh, no! I'm certainly not stalking you! Whatever makes you think that?  
ahahahaha...  
er...  
........  
I wanna mole plushie.  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
Yugo's mouth opened wide and he yawned silently at first, but then ended with a full, low voice. He scratched his head with one hand rather rapidly, like the way a dog scratches itself, before dropping himself into the sheets. After quite a bit of trouble, they had convinced Uriko to get into some form of night clothes and to go to bed. She would sleep in Kenji's room, while Kenji would share Yugo's futon couch bed in Yugo's room.   
Yugo's room was a square room with dark walls. There was a small television set in one corner with various consoles and video games hooked up to it. He had some posters on the walls of various sports icons, bands, and sexy women (he took these down when Uriko came). There was a laundry bin, but most of his clothes were on the floor along with other junk. They also hung out of the drawers of his dresser, on top of which was an old and damaged photograph of himself at the age of six years with his parents, next to which were more pictures of the two brothers at various points in time.  
  
After Kenji took a much needed shower, he got into a pair of boxer shorts and a T-shirt listing the cities in which Silver Noise played on its summer tour the previous year, since Uriko was wearing his nightshirt. That was alright, since the dark-haired boy could not see the designs in the first place. Yugo slept in the usual boxer shorts and a tank top. The lights were out and the house had grown silent.  
  
"So. Kenji."  
"Yes, big brother Yugo?"  
"I'm happy you can speak now, but you didn't have to change for me to like you more, if that's why you..."  
Kenji turned himself towards Yugo's voice. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, well..." Yugo trailed, a little embarrassed, as he sat up in bed, "You know, Kenji, I love you just the way you are and I won't love you more or less if you can speak or see or whatever, and you'd better believe it."  
  
"Yugo...?"  
"I mean, it's great you can speak now and you're obviously expressing yourself more, and... heck, you're socializing now, but when disappeared before.... well.... shit, I was heartbroken, Kenji. I nearly killed myself searching the city for you."  
"I'm sorry, big brother Yugo," he whispered. Yugo shook his head.  
"Nah, I'm the one who has to be sorry. It was my fault you left. When you ran off-"  
"'Ran off...?'"  
"That... was why you ran away a year ago. Right?"  
Kenji now spoke in a quiet, sad voice.  
"Yugo, I didn't run away... They took me back."  
"Eh? What was that?"  
Yugo moved in for the answer. His brother slunk back into a sleeping position, turning to the wall.  
"Nothing."  
"Kenji, what did you say? Come on!"  
"Nothing. I'm tired. Let's sleep now."  
  
Meanwhile, Uriko was in the smaller room. She was wearing Kenji's old nightshirt which was white with red shoulders and sleeves and the words "I Not Sleep Only" on the front. She was still uncertain as to what would take place during the night with these strange people. The younger seemed to have some sort of obsession with her. She curled up under the quilt and examined the doll known as Loopy. Such a strange story, she thought.  
Finally, she managed to fall asleep.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Hands grabbed him and started to shake him to awaken him.   
"Big brother Yugo... wake up..."  
The older, still half asleep groaned and grunted, "What... what is it? What is it?"  
"You... you said you loved me, right?"  
"Yeah, yeah I did. Is that what you woke me up for? I love you even when I'm deprived of sleep and I want to bite your head off, okay? Now go to sleep!"  
"But I wanted to ask you... do you love Uriko, too?"  
"Ha?"  
"Do you also love Uriko?"  
"I dunno. I jus' met 'er!"  
The blind boy nodded silently and curled back under the covers, whispering "I see..."  
"Kenji...." the voice of someone who just realized a juicy little tidbit called. The boxer now had a knowing, mischievous smile on his face. He sat up in bed and decided to get the beef from his little brother.   
  
"I think I know what's going on here, Kenjiiiii...."  
"What are you talking about?"  
The larger man gave him a big slap on the back and roughly clapped his hand to Kenji's shoulder.  
  
"You're really asking if you love Uriko, aren't you?"  
  
Kenji became quiet and his mouth hung open as he tried to think of an answer. He hesitated and hung his head downwards. Yugo's large arms clamped around Kenji and one hand reached up to deliver a congratulatory noogie to commemorate his passage into adulthood.  
"I knew it! You're in love! It seems like I first found you just yesterday and now you're in love!"  
"Y... Yugo, that hurts..."  
"You're all grown up, Kenji! I'm so proud of you..."  
  
Yugo then separated himself from him and asked him if he had ever told him about men and women.  
"So, Kenji, you see..."  
The little brother stumbled out of bed and quickly explained he had to use the toilet and felt his way out of the room. His older brother watched him leave, smiling and knowing he was fibbing.  
  
Kenji pondered the idea. Did he love her? Could he love her? Big brother Yugo took care of him and he loved him. Uriko took care of him... well, she took care of a mole and she did say she loved him when talking to Alice on one occasion. What had Kenji done? Sure, he had rescued Uriko a while back, but that was not the same. He was the vulnerable one under someone else's care, the one being loved. That was love, was it not? Love was something given to him by the words "I love you" from the one who gave it. Why was big brother Yugo acting the way he was about him and Uriko?  
  
He stepped inside his room where Uriko slept and kneeled next to the bed. He leaned on it and over her face. Brushing the hair away from her ear, he began the hypnosis.  
"Uriko... I... I want you to know Mister Mole, the Kenji you now know in the waking world, and the Kenji who speaks now are one and the same."  
"Kenji... what do you mean?"  
"This is our secret. Do you know what a zoanthrope is? A zoanthrope is a human with the ability to change into another creature. I am a mole. If this is shown when you are awake, please do not be alarmed. It is as normal for me as any of your daily tasks is for you. It is nothing special. Please remember this."  
"I will," Uriko muttered, taking in the direct hypnotic suggestion.  
"When I became lost, I was cursed to be in my mole form in the day and to only be able to take on the human form from midnight to dawn. During those hours I would find my way back. But I don't want to go back. You found me and took care of me and I wanted to stay with you as your pet. Your teacher broke the device which controlled when I was allowed to change and thus I can be human whenever I wish. And now that I've found my big brother Yugo, I can stay with him."  
"I can't keep Mister Mole anymore?"  
"I'll be big brother Yugo's little brother again. But we could visit each other, couldn't we? I still want to eat strawberries with you."  
"Strawberries.... oh, Mom.... I wanna go home."  
"Hopefully, Mr. Gado will let you go home soon. Don't worry, big brother Yugo will take good care of you."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes, I am. And, now that the situation is right, you know my secret and you may remember our conversations in the waking world. Please remember our conversations, Uriko. I do not like it when you treat me like such a stranger."  
"I will." These were the words one expected to hear when using this kind of hypnosis.  
"Good night, Uriko."  
"Good night, Kenji."  
  
He stroked her face once, stood up, and said plainly, "You heard everything, didn't you?"  
Yugo stepped into the room and looked at the two teens. "What were you just doing?" he asked.  
"It's a kind of hypnosis done during sleep. I've been talking to Uriko using this method when she was taking care of me."  
"Talking to her in her sleep as a human, eh? You weren't... doing anything naughty, were you?"  
"Huh?" Kenji sounded plainly with a small tilt of his head. His brother decided to forget it.  
"Stuck as a mole..." the light brown-haired man pondered, "and to think my little Kenji is a mole zoanthrope... now what do you know..."  
"I take it from your reaction the hypnosis worked perfectly on you."  
"Eh? You were doing that to me?"  
"I didn't want you to be troubled by something so strange to a non-zoanthrope."  
"I still don't like it," Yugo pouted.  
  
"Say, Kenji..." Yugo then suggested, "why don't you show me your mole form?"  
He gave a quick "sure" and then closed his eyes. The energy to transform shone off as light and in a few seconds there was a pile of clothes standing where Kenji was. Yugo got to his knees and looked for any sign of Kenji.  
"Squeak!" cried a little moving lump. Yugo fished his little brother out.   
His fur was lighter than most moles, for some reason, but Yugo did not know that as he had not seen very many moles in his lifetime. He had big digging paws with large claws and a furry tail. He seemed to be completely covered in fur except for his paws and nose. His eyes were hard to see in all that fur. He was sort of ugly, but then again, kind of cute in his ugliness.  
"Aren't you a cute little rodent," he teased, holding Kenji in one hand. He bent down over Uriko and played with his brother like a doll. In a high pitched voice, he squeaked, "I am the mole prince. Kiss me, my princess!" He bounced the mole up and down to simulate walking and then pressed his little muzzle against the princess' lips.  
"Mmmmmmmmwah!"  
  
"Hmmm?" Uriko noised. Her eyes fluttered and Yugo froze right in place, figuring he was caught. The girl, only slightly awake, saw the mole and with a little yawn, snatched him, held him against her her body, and shifted her position so it would be hard to pry him out of her hands without her waking up.  
  
"Uhhh... Good night, Kenji.... Don't do anything pornographic, okay?"  
With that, he picked up Kenji's clothes went back to the bed he now had all to himself.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It was Sunday morning, and Yugo was scrambling eggs mixed with shredded pepper jack cheese in the kitchen. In walked what looked like a zombie, holding a still-sleeping rodent against her breast. She headed towards the door.  
"Where are you going, Nonomura?"  
"Breakfast."  
"I'm making it right here," Yugo told her, pointing to the frying pan with his spatula.  
"I gotta dig up breakfast for Mister Mole."  
"'Dig up?' What does he eat?"  
"Worms. He has to eat his weight in them every day."  
  
He made a face and wondered if the kid was alright after eating nothing but worms for who knows how long a time he spent with this girl.  
  
"Well, there are some piss-filled tree plots out there, but I dunno if you're gonna have much luck finding any worms."  
She stopped at the door, with her hand on one its two locks, accompanied by a chain lock and then remembered she was not home.   
"Oh, right," she mumbled. Uriko plopped herself in a chair and brought her legs to her chest to curl up with her pet. She cradled him and lightly stroked his tummy.  
"So, anyway-"  
"Shhhh," interrupted his half-asleep guest, "he's sleeping."  
"So anyway," continued her host in a hushed tone, "he can eat different stuff now, can't he?"  
"Well, moles eat bugs, too, but I don't know what kind."  
"I mean, as a human."  
  
Then Uriko snapped to full consciousness. She pulled her head back and stared wide-eyed at the creature in her arms with a confused expression. How should she feel about his being a human in his true form? She held him a little further away from herself. The mole squeaked a little and squirmed slightly. He then shifted himself closer to her body and became still once more when he was in a comfortable position curled up against her.  
"He seems to really like you," Yugo noted, "last night, we were talking and I think he might have a crush on you."  
"He-he what?"  
"Don't tell him I told you, though. But you can tell me if he does anything you don't like; I'll bash his brains out if he does. I doubt he's that kind of person, though."  
  
Yugo gave her a plate with some scrambled eggs and a piece of toast and sat down in the other chair, pulling it up next to Uriko so he could also see his brother up close.   
"I was told kids sometimes can't speak at all after a lot of trauma. Kenji didn't speak for five years. He's probably been through a lot of hell. I think he might have spoken eventually, though. Sometimes he looked like he really wanted to, the poor kid."  
He reached down and stroked Kenji's furry head with his finger. His fur was so soft.  
"Kenji's a little strange and a tad na•ve, but he's a good person. He just needs a little love, that's all. That's what I told Mr. Gado. With some help, he'll heal eventually."  
  
He stroked the mole a little more before making his request.  
"And you'll help me, won't you? I'm not asking you to pretend to be his girlfriend, but If you don't mind... I'd like you to at least be friendly towards him and show him some kindness, you know? He needs it."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Yugo had gone out for take-out. He would have rather gone to his favorite barbecue restaurant. As a matter of fact, it was this restaurant's secret recipe sauce Kenji had smelt earlier that helped lead him to the boxer's neighborhood. Even so, Kenji did not care for the slabs of cooked muscle Yugo craved. Since it was to celebrate his return, they were going to eat his favorite food. The noodles he desired came from a take-out place with no seating, so they would be eating at home. The two teenagers stayed in the house waiting for their food.  
  
Earlier that day, after a little mess that took place when Kenji transformed back into a human right in the kitchen ("Couldja turn around? This is between us guys."), they had talked about the secrets he had just revealed. Without a doubt, he was starting to regret telling them what he had told them. Kenji had wanted to inform Yugo for years, but he never could. He could never get it out of him for some reason, but now he could. This did not apply towards Inspector Gado. He knew deep down he should probably tell him everything, but it would not come out of him. He was a sealed box towards Inspector Gado. Then again, he had only talked about himself to Yugo and Uriko. He did not talk at all about why he was the way he was or who took him back.  
  
They played Yugo's video games. First they played the old ones Kenji grew up watching Yugo play and then they played his new ones. Yugo was a fighting genre fanatic. Kenji preferred strategy games and role playing games.   
  
Yugo showed Uriko his old pictures of Kenji. He did smile every now and then. Earlier on, he had to catch him off guard, but later on he could stage a smile. The braided girl noted how sick and pale he looked in the earliest pictures. As the pictures became more and more recent, they showed a much healthier looking boy, though he still had airs of illness and emaciation about him. When Uriko looked at Kenji, she could see how he did look rather unhealthy, especially when compared to the pictures taken right before Kenji was "taken back."  
Then, Yugo took out a camera and told the two to get together so he could add something to his book. Kenji tried to look forward to where the camera probably was and he staged a smile. Uriko swung one arm around his shoulder and gave a V for victory sign. Then he handed the camera to Uriko to take a picture of the two brothers reunited. He used to opportunity to use his new technique on him just as the picture was taken. It was called The Dreaded Electro Noogie. Ten times more powerful than the average noogie, its secret was placing the knuckles of both hands on either side of the opponent's head and rotating the hands for maximum annoyance.   
  
They proceeded to finish off the roll of film before making up for more lost time.  
Then, Uriko asked something.  
"It was Tylon, wasn't it?"  
Both males stopped and looked at her. The mere mentioning of Tylon completely stopped Kenji's fun and Yugo was reminded of with what he needed to concern himself.  
"You told me Tylon was a bad place and that I shouldn't go there."  
Kenji wore a straight face. "I don't want to talk about that."  
"That's right! And I found you when there was that big explosion at Tylon!  
"I don't want to talk about that."  
"But Kenji, this is important. I don't want you to leave me again."  
"I don't want to talk about that."  
"Please Kenji?"  
Then, Kenji just became quiet and responded to nothing. The two asked him question after question and he responded in no way. Finally, Yugo decided to exchange the subject for another hoping he would speak. He did not want to go through another five years of silence.  
  
Thankfully, he did and that was the conversation deciding dinner. Yugo went out to buy the noodles they pleased.  
  
The rotten mood still loomed over the room. Uriko paced back and forth impatiently. Kenji slumped over in his seat.  
"Yugo's just glad to have you back, but I want to know what's really going on."  
"....."  
"It's for your own good, you know!"  
"....."  
"It's really important, isn't it?"  
"....."  
"You know, I just want to know why you're so glum all the time. You're too young and handsome to be acting that way! It doesn't fit a nice guy like you."  
He let out a heavy sigh.  
"Uriko, I-"  
  
Suddenly, he stood up to attention. He struck a defensive pose and turned his head to listen in all directions. Uriko started to ask him what was the matter, but he shushed her.  
"Someone's here."  
The two stood still for a what seemed like forever. Then, Kenji jumped and faced towards his left, shouting "over there!"   
There was more silence as he "stared" in that direction, and a rather deep and old sounding voice came from the shadows. When Kenji heard him, his eyes grew wide and his face took on the expression of extreme dread.  
  
"Once more I find you here.... Young Dragon."  
  
Kenji shook in his anxiety and moved back slightly with faltering steps. He managed to stutter something in his fear.  
  
"M...master..." 


	8. Taken Back

Guess what? Good friend of mine pinktokki is fanficcing on fanfiction.net now. She's really funny. Look her up!  
Okay finals are starting up soon. If I fail two subjects for the year, I get kicked out. If I get kicked out, it probably means no more computer which means no more fic.  
Don't worry, the two finals tomorrow aren't in the subjects I fear I shall fail.  
I trust you'll review, right? I need reviews to LIVE!!  
;X; Don't make Yugo cry! Give me more reviews, for I am your GOD and I shall smite you pathetic little ants if you don-  
Ummm... sorry. I'm kidding, of course.  
Please enjoy. I've been wanting to do a certain introduction that occurs in this chapter for quite some time....  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
"Master..."  
An older man stepped into clearer view. He was dressed in yellow and he wore sandals and metal guards like the ones Kenji had. His face was very serious and he had a large nose and lips. His eyes were a sickening pure white. He had very little white hair, which shot off at the sides of his head and on the top of his bald head was some kind of orange tattoo. Was it a Yin Yang?  
While Kenji was still just standing there, Uriko demanded, "Who are you?"  
He stood quite plainly, bringing up a hand with two raised fingers to make a calm stance.  
  
"I am the master of Silent Death, which shall soon be yours to keep."  
  
Uriko gulped. In a pleading voice she had never heard before, Kenji begged, "Master, please don't involve her! She had nothing to do with this!"  
  
"I know you lie."  
  
"You're here for Kenji, aren't you? I won't let you hurt him," the braided girl dared, "Umm, I'll fight you!"  
She quickly spun around and stuck a shaky fighting stance on one foot. "Come on!"  
The master silently nodded and shifted into a fighting position.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The door opened and in came the scarred man bearing food. "I'm home!" he called out to a silent house. He set the bag on the kitchen table and waited for the two youngsters to come running for their dinner.  
"Er, Kenji?"  
His apartment was completely still and devoid of movement and life. He did not even begin to look before his mind jumped to the correct conclusion.  
"Oh, no."  
In his desperation, he burst into the other rooms screaming his little brothers name. As he feared, there was no answer. They both were gone as if they had never been there.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"We're back," the master firmly stated upon entering the place his acolyte had known for years. It was the lab where the doctor worked and strange machines lined the walls. Everything was black and metallic grey. A casually dressed man was huddled at his desk. When he saw Bakuryu, he immediately jumped up to greet him, or rather his company.  
"The Young Dragon is back, I see!"  
He clapped his hands excitedly. He was a rather strange man to the eyes. He stood slumped over somewhat with bent knees, which made his arms and legs look unusually long, at the ends of which were rather large feet and hands. Behind his glasses were narrow eyes and underneath those was a mouth capable of one of the widest, toothiest grins. His green hair stood up, slicked into a high point atop his head. He wore very casual clothes: a brightly colored untucked shirt with large shorts and flip flops.  
Bakuryu stepped back as soon as he reached out for the unconscious boy slung over his shoulder. "I think I will take care of my own heir," he explained. He then roughy placed a girl in the same condition onto the table next to him. "Perhaps she will keep you busy instead."  
  
"I don't need another ordinary subject. I have bigger fish to fry, understand?"  
The master knowingly narrowed his eyes. "I'm sure you do."  
"I'll put a collar on her, but I don't really have anything to do with her, 'cause I am currently a tad on the busy side, see? And I really don't have the room for another subject, either." he told him in a bored voice as he reached into a drawer for an identification band.  
  
"Fine then. I think I might have an experiment of my own."  
  
"Thaaat's nice...," he dully teased. The green haired man decided he might as well take a blood sample as well. He lazily tossed the small container of the red fluid over his shoulder into his "To Do" basket, which had plenty of things to do to cushion its fall.  
  
"Yeah! Two points!"  
  
Just as the Fire Blast Dragon turned around to leave to his clan's section of the building, a hand tugged at his shirt.   
"By the by.... I recently got another letter from Mr. Tylon..."  
What is he letting him do now, the old master moaned silently.  
He proudly held up the letter so Bakuryu could read it as he summarized its contents for him.   
"It says I can do whatever I please to perfect the heir without your consent, anytime, and I won't have to get separate letters of permission ever again for future projects of mine. Isn't that good news?"  
He had to strain to control his anger. He could not make himself say anything. It was right there on the letter with what was the current leader of Tylon's signature.   
"I thought you'd like it! Now, I'll take the boy and you'll take the girl, then?"  
  
"You had better actually improve him this time, Doctor."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
He stumbled down the stairs, one hand grasped at his chest. Pain was throbbing at his insides and he could feel the flames rise up around him. He was on fire. He would have gladly jumped into a vat of molten sodium to relieve himself of the unbearable heat, but he knew that was not necessary. The one who caused this would solve this, as little as he wanted to admit it.  
He just caught himself before completely falling down and over the steps. With both hands, he latched onto the banister. Sweat poured off his face and onto the concrete. Panting, he strained to stand up despite the spasms taking over his muscles. Dazed green eyes tried to focus, but the whole world was spinning around him.  
  
"ShitFuckGod I'm in Hell..."  
  
He could make out the man he was seeking in the lab.   
"Doctor Asshole!" he shouted. He could still express his feelings even in such a state.  
"What is it?" the annoyed doctor answered. As soon as he saw his patient, his face lit up.  
  
"My, my! Prince, you look rather feverish."  
  
The silver haired youth's mind growled, This was what you wanted, isn't it?  
  
"This shit you gave me, it's..."  
The Doctor, with his trademark grin, approached him with a needle in hand. "This'll perk you right up!"  
"It looks like the same shit from before."   
"I can assure you it's not, now give me your arm."  
He did not wait for a reply and merely grabbed the prince's arm and pierced his dark brown skin with the needle. As soon as all of the formula entered his body, he released his grip and allowed his subject to snatch his arm back.   
He dropped down to his knees, trembling even more. "You made it worse!" he gasped. The heat was becoming even more unbearable and his muscles were out of control. He felt as if something was attempting to escape from inside of him, trying to destroy his body completely in order to do that. He could almost hear a strange kind of music unlike any kind he knew in the back of his head, its faint sound haunting his mind.  
  
And then it stopped. The two were completely still for a few seconds. The youth pondered what had just happened and the other waited for some sort of response.  
  
"HA!" He stood up triumphantly and pointed at the doctor with a menacing smile.  
  
That was not the response the doctor wanted. He sighed and turned back to his work, muttering, "Damn.... he didn't explode."  
"I heard that, Hajime BAKAZIMA!"  
"I am Doctor Hajime Busuzima.... you good-for-nothing spoiled chicken."  
"'Chicken?!' Hey. Don't you call me no goddam chicken, Doctor Freak-a-Nature!"  
  
"Look, could you make like a good little bird and get out of my face? I'm busy." The strange man dismissed him with the wave of one hand. The younger would not be dismissed.  
"And how are you playing God today?"  
  
"The Young Dragon. He got into trouble again." He motioned towards one of the cells where the Clan of the Soil's heir was strapped into a seat and hooked up all sorts of devices. Speakers were set up around him, but only one on his side of the glass could hear it. He was breathing heavily and he looked very distressed. His mouth formed something, and then he looked like he was saying it again, calling it out.  
Busuzima saw this and grabbed a microphone. He pressed a button to interrupt the recording. "He isn't coming. Nobody's coming."  
  
A shiver ran down his spine at just thinking about the messages probably forced through the fellow teenager's head. "Daaamnnn... I didn't even realize Ryu was gone this time. How many times have you had to brainwash him?"  
"I'd have to check the records. This method worked pretty well last time, though. I decided to replace one of the drugs with a new one I've made."  
  
He sounded a small "tsk" and shook his head.  
"I think Ryu's had it with your brain things. One of these days, he's gonna get brain cancer or some shit."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When she woke up, she found herself under warm sheets sleeping on a futon. She sat up in bed and looked around. Where was she? The small room looked like something traditional Japanese.   
Then, she noticed something around her neck. It felt like the kind of plastic band she had to put around her wrist while on a group skiing tour, except it was thicker and the excess after the clasp had been trimmed. Now she started get nervous as reality returned after its flight during sleep. Uriko stood up, the white gown she was wearing fluttering around her.  
She slid open the door and peeked around. There seemed to be nobody around. Suddenly, she heard a low voice from behind her.  
  
"Good Afternoon."  
"Kyaa!"  
  
She turned around and found the man from the night before standing behind her as if he had been there the whole time. Uriko pointed, gasping, "Wh-where-"  
"You'll find we do that a lot. I suggest you get used to it."  
"How did you..."  
"I am, after all, a ninja."  
"Ninja?" Uriko echoed with a strange look on her face before remembering the previous night, "Ah! Kenji! What did you do with Kenji?"  
  
He made a face and said with much dignity, "His title is 'Young Dragon.'" He was disgusted he would have to hear that name again.  
"And it seems the doctor has someone else to erase from his mind," he continued, "But that is not the point right now. You fought me last night."  
"What about it?"  
  
"You attempted to attack me using a six level combination attack."  
Uriko stared at him with confused eyes and a blank stare. "A what now?"  
He glared back, annoyed.  
"Oh, that!" she replied, "what's the big deal?"  
"I want to know who taught you to use Kenpo like that. I could see the skill of one taught by an expert in your clumsy, amateur, careless..."  
She also became annoyer and asked him why he would care about that. He merely replied that he used to work with a Kenpo master. Uriko did use what looked like an assassin's moves against him.  
"Never mind that, where's Kenji?"  
  
"'Young Dragon.'"  
"What's with that stupid name?"  
"Stupid...?"  
He snatched her up by the throat.  
  
"That is his title as my heir. Know this. I am to be called Master Bakuryu and that child is to be called Young Dragon. Do you understand this?"  
He let her go by tossing her to the ground. He turned around and silently walked away, telling her, "You will see when he returns. He will not know you. Anger me and he will be the one to kill you. It is by my curiosity you live, so stay out of trouble before your privilege is taken away."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
He sat at his desk and tapped a silver plated fountain pen into the inkwell. The episode from earlier was worse than previous times. Busuzima simply called it a fever or a minor side effect. The reactions were becoming stronger. What was he trying to do to him?  
Whatever it was, the prince decided, that quack was getting closer to achieving his goal.  
He put pen to paper and wrote:  
  
Dearest Father,   
  
My time in this country has been most interesting. Tylon Corporation holds a cornucopia of the most astounding facts. My education has been going along very well and I am sure you would be very proud of me could you see me now.  
I am concerned, however, that staying here might not be good for me. I have been having severe allergic reactions recently and it makes life extremely hard for me. Perhaps it would be best if I returned home. My soul yearns for the beautiful land I shall someday call my own. My already vague memories grow more and more faint of that wonderful place. I mourn the fact that I must be raised here.  
Father, hear my plea. Take me back home to you, to the golden sky, to my people. I want to go home.  
Your son,  
Cronos  
  
His emerald eyes scanned over the letter and thought over what he had written and how he had worded his request. He began to take out an envelope and his wax seal, but then he twisted his face into a fierce and frustrated grimace. He snatched up his composition in one hand and crumpled it up.  
  
"Melodramatic piece of shit!"  
  
He knew King Orion would never listen to him. His proud kingdom was now tied up in the multinational Tylon Corporation. Their kingdom was created a refuge for his kind, and now it was sponsoring a major oppressor in secret. They were controlling his father with their deals and contracts, and Cronos would one day be controlled as well. What was there for him to do? Whether he was here or there, he was still in Tylon's grasp. He was trapped. In fact, why was he still thinking of doing something about it?   
He looked at the ruined letter in his hand and reminded himself a silly request to his father would have changed nothing, even if he did not directly say anything about his "education" to be edited out so there would be no knowledge of his being an experiment in reality. He knew he was an experiment, even though nobody went to so far as to actually say that. Father probably knew that a well.  
He guessed he would go right along just as his father was doing now when his time came. Besides, he was rather lucky. As a prince, he had luxurious quarters made just for him and he could freely walk around most of the building. He had access to his own impressive share of money free for him to use. He could even go outside if he wanted.  
Perhaps the only thing to do was to make the best of it.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Here he is, new and improved!" the doctor declared triumphantly. He led the dazed heir by the hand. His eyes were opened wide, but not focused and his face was rather blank. He took two steps into the Clan of the Soil's section of the building and stumbled slightly.  
"And that's after only one session," he added, "Aren't I great? If you have problems, just bring him back to me."  
Bakuryu grimly eyed the boy, who barely noticed he was there.   
"He doesn't look much better to me."  
"You know as well as I do he just needs a good night's sleep and then I dare say he'll be ready for another mission! Yup... I kick butt, don't I? Eh? EH?"  
"Great job," the master lied and closed the door in the doctor's face. He then summoned someone to put his heir to bed.  
  
The Clan of the Soil had been loyal to the family which ran Tylon for generations. Why was his valuable clan being taken for granted now? Now, they were being stashed with the rest of the assassins. That man now had the permission to do whatever he wanted to his heir without question.   
All the brainwashing techniques were different from the ones Bakuryu knew. Also, all of them seemed to be experimental. How dare he experiment on his only heir? It was a little too late to get a new one should anything fatal happen to the current one.  
  
None of the sessions were completely flawless. The boy seemed to go through a kind of deterioration afterwards. He would become less responsive and less aware. He would forget more than they wanted him to forget. He could barely remember anything sometimes! The future leader of his clan would become a drone. Sometimes, he would phase into a "dangerous" mode. His ability would become increased and he would become incredibly efficient... and then he would walk into a wall.  
When he had gone to take him back, the situation had been a little different. Once that girl had hit the floor, that trembling boy stepped into a relaxed stance and charged towards him. His sightless eyes narrowed and his face showed unwavering concentration. Even without sight, he still had laser-like accuracy and the advantage in the fight. The ninjutsu master fought him off and waited patiently for him to slip up somewhere along the line. He made no mistakes and he managed to stay in that mode far longer than the few seconds he had been in such a state in the past. It was a miracle Bakuryu was able to knock him out in the end as well.  
  
To add to that, it was all over that girl. He reasoned the Young Dragon merely had a hard lesson to learn about lust, but on the other hand... perhaps this could use some looking into, as he stayed in such a state for so long. Did he manage to keep his mind during that time? Bakuryu was intrigued.  
  
Then again, he was just brainwashed and thus any hope of looking into this incident was lost... or was it? As risky as it was, perhaps keeping the girl around was not such a bad idea. 


	9. Kenji and Kenji

This chapter doesn't feel right. Something feels very wrong with this chapter. Still, I'm putting it up 'cause I can't really do much more with it.  
I was originally going to include a little fantasy Mr. Ninja Mole has about Uriko in his sleep and his little conversation with Cronos afterwards, but I cut it out. Maybe I'll stick it in the next chapter. I dunno.  
About that whole thing with delaying the fic. You probably also get those moments when you really feel ashamed of yourself and your fandom. Now, I'm an incredibly paranoid and self-loathing individual, so this comes rather naturally. Besides, the fanfiction.net downtime counts as a delay, right? So, on with the fic!  
*sigh* Something feels very wrong with this chapter. Well, I can always fix it in the future, right?  
Alright. I'm really bad at describing things well and I suck at love stories. There. But I write them anyway. Practice? I guess so. You need practice to write decent stories, I suppose...  
Hey everyone! Now that the search is back up, look up a writer by the name of PinkTokki! She's a good friend of mine and she's funny!  
What else? Oh, right. Go and vote on the future of Cuddly Moles and Kenshin is sexy.  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\  
This place was familiar. It was probably his clan's residence, he reasoned.   
  
Early in the morning, when all were still sleeping, he had stepped out of bed and had begun to familiarize himself with his surroundings. He knew who he was, and he knew his mission as well. The fact that it was normal for him to forget things was also coming back to him.  
  
Everything still felt foreign, though, especially that strange odor. It was unlike any of the scents coming from his fellow ninja. The large, furry creature sniffed about, careful the long claws on his hind paws did not scratch the floor. He managed to pinpoint the scent and he silently approached the room from where it was coming. When he was sure that person was sleeping, he proceeded into the small room to kneel by the bed.   
  
Just as his nose told him, it was a female human. She was curled up sleeping on her side with the blankets just past her chin. He could see long brown hair done in a braid trailing from the back of her head, but not much else. Something about this girl was important, but what? He sniffed the back of her neck, his warm breaths and whiskers tickling her skin. She moaned and curled up even more away from him. To bring her into closer view, he used his wide, flat paws like paddles to gently turn her over and cradle the upper part of her body. The bright white claws gently tugged the sheets, but he made sure not to stir her from her sleep just yet. She had a round, youthful face surrounded by the long bangs of her brown hair. As for the the rest of her, she was a rather petite girl with small features and attributes. He continued to take in her scent and mull over it in his head. It was definitely foreign and she smelled nothing like his clan. Still, why was she sleeping there? Also, why did he feel there was something important about her presence?  
  
His examination had finally brought her to awaken and her light brown eyes fluttered open. A frozen moment of still and utter silence reigned for the few moments she registered the hulking, wide-shouldered creature with its long face, pink nose, and red eyes, which sat upright on its hind legs and had human chest and stomach muscles underneath its brown fur and held her with giant, furry paws that bore pointed talons that must have been a foot long.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Day 1:  
4:30 A.M.  
I'll bet that girl just woke up the whole building. Why do I have the feeling that shriek will be coming back to haunt me? Damn kids. I guess I should see if she's still alive.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
She had let out a piercing shriek prior to his pounce. He swiftly grabbed the intruder and got on top of her to prevent her from moving. The beast held her down with his left paw firmly placed on her chest and the other's ivory daggers rushed towards her eyes, which she immediately shut in fear. When instant death did not come, she nervously peeked one eye open and found blunt human fingertips positioned on front of her face. Glaring yellow eyes glowed through the darkness and fixated themselves onto her.  
  
"Who are you?" a young voice hissed. He got no answer from the panicking girl, who hoped to find a way out of his grip, which was still considerably strong. He brought his face in closer to hers.  
"You're not one of us."   
He lightly sniffed the air between them.  
"I doubt you're a zoanthrope at all."  
It was then she could make out his facial features. Without taking the time to think over an explanation for the previous events, she stuttered the first name that came to her mind.  
"K-K-Kenji..."  
  
He wrinkled his nose and gave her a suspicious look. "'Kenji...?' You, I know not."  
  
Both of them turned their focus sideways to the entrance of the room. The master was standing in the hallway. "Is there any trouble?" he inquired with a knowing tone.  
  
"An intruder, master," he obediently replied, then he quickly stood up, violently dragging her up with him, and he placed a tight grip from behind on either side of her arms, "Who is she?"  
  
"Nobody important, really. She'll be staying here for a while, so why don't you let her be?"  
He quickly nodded and released her, almost pushing her off to one side.   
Bakuryu then asked if they should start their morning rounds early. The disciple replied in the affirmative and followed him out, stopping to bow and give a quick apology to the stranger before leaving.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
At the time when most would rise from sleep, Yugo Ogami stumbled into his apartment, having abstained from it the whole day and night. He was a wreck, donning rumpled clothes and dark bags under his eyes. Leaning on the kitchen counter, he stared at the floor with barely anything going through his mind except the pure anguish of a repeated tragic event. Somehow, he regained some lost energy when he heard the telephone's ringing. He bounded towards the phone to answer the call, ripping the receiver from the mounted set and eager placing it to his ear.  
  
"Kenji!" he practically screamed, but then his hopes were denied. It was his manager on the other line. He once again lost his fire and leaned into the wall.  
"No... I'm not coming to today's match..." he answered in a soulless voice, "I know... I know... It doesn't matter, really... forget about it, okay?"  
He ignored the angered voice coming from the speaker. "Just... leave me alone..." he whispered before hanging up.  
  
Yugo's lifeless body drifted to his room, where he glanced at the pictures on his dresser. While there was only one of his lost parents, there were many pictures of his lost brother. It was the last his shattered soul could take. His heart collapsed in on itself and he dropped himself into a sitting position on the bed. Burying his face in his hands, he began to sob pitifully in mourning of his missing pack.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Uriko finally decided to step outside of her room after sitting up in bed for quite some time. She was still wearing she same clothes from the day before, the white frock with the collar clipped together in the front with a red clasp that looked like a brooch bearing a large plastic jewel. She supposed if she was to change her clothes, they would have left a spare garment in her room for her to find when she woke up. The tiny room was completely bare except for the bed, but then again, there was not that much room for anything else in there.  
She walked up the hall, which was mostly silent. One room she passed by seemed to have noise coming from it. The peeked in and found it to be full of people, seated on the floor. Most of them were dressed in yellow, like that "Bakuryu" and... Kenji? Right, the outfit Kenji had with him was something like their getups and what he was wearing earlier that morning was definitely a more complete version of it, more like what she was looking at now. She could have sworn his face was the one she saw that morning. Still, something was not right.  
The people there gave her looks and seemed to be talking about her, so she decided to move on. Uriko passed through a door to what looked like the outside, but it turned out to be an imitation of the real thing. It was an indoor garden, complete with a little pond and a path around it. She walked along the path and let the greenery surround her.   
  
"That master person must be loaded," she whispered to herself. A voice whispered back, "We've been faithful for so long; they owe us a lot."  
Instead of screaming in her shock, she merely spun around and saw a stern youth behind her. He was dressed like all the others and around his neck was a large red scarf, which happened to overlap part of his face.  
"It's you!"  
"I'm sorry about before. I did not know about you. I don't know much right now in the first place, so try to understand."  
She gave a silent affirmative answer, not taking her eyes off the section of his face she could see. It had to have been he! Still, his eyes looked like they were functioning just fine, so perhaps she was wrong. The Kenji she knew was blind, after all. Her mind might have been playing tricks on her.  
  
"I do not believe we have met. You must tell me if we have."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I am terribly forgetful. I think this happens a lot, but everything important tends to return in due time. The Doctor does this to me from time to time."  
"R..right..." she muttered and stood there nervously and shifted her feet. The boy watched her intently.  
"Is something the matter, Miss Kenji?" he asked politely. Uriko did a double take and made a peculiar questioning noise in her throat. She got an equally peculiar look back from the youth on front of her.  
  
"Anyway," he started in the same quiet voice he had used for the whole conversation so far, "We did not see you at breakfast, so..."   
He produced a neat package from the folds of his outfit. It was a small rectangular something in the typical sealed wrappings of a candy bar.   
"I brought you this. One of these has the calories and vitamins and minerals to equal one balanced meal. If you want, I'll come for you when it's time to eat, so you could have something more appetizing."  
"....Thank you."   
This was rather awkward. Was she a guest or a prisoner in this place? It was hard to see at this point. Nobody appeared to be harming her just yet, and this was a rather nice place, to be truthful.  
  
"Right. I guess I'll be going, then?" he continued. He seemed to be just as nervous and unsure as she.   
  
"I'll see you later then, Miss Kenji?"  
She knew her ears were not playing tricks on her this time. She quickly piped, "There! What did you just call me?"  
"Oh. Are you one of those types who doesn't like using honorifics?"  
"No, it's just- Why do you keep saying that name... I mean.. Who are you, anyway?"  
  
"You don't recognize me? Oh, how silly of me!" Just then, he had noticed his scarf was covering up his face. With one finger, he gently pulled it down so she could see him clearly.  
"I am the Young Dragon, the heir to this clan. I... woke you up this morning..."  
Her eyes grew wide as her suspicion was deemed true. "Kenji!" she squealed, throwing herself onto him. In such a strange world, he was the furthest thing from a complete stranger she had.  
  
He was confused by her action. "I already know your name," he told her, thinking it was her -rather friendly- way of introducing herself. She wriggled out the embrace and put her face right on front of his.   
"No, No, No! You're Kenji!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"It is you, Kenji! I knew it! And you can see, too!"  
  
"Kenji" distanced her from him and asked, "Is this some kind of nickname from before? Have I known you before?"  
"Kenji, it's me! Uriko! Uriko Nonomura!"  
  
"Sorry," he explained, "I don't remember anybody with either of those names."  
He then turned and told her he had to leave for now.   
  
He left Uriko standing by herself if the greenery. Bakuryu's words from the previous day echoed through her mind, rousing up heated blood and violent emotions. She immediately sought out the Fire Blast Dragon, who just so happened to be walking through the main corridor at the moment. Uriko took an offensive stance and pointed at him accusingly.  
  
"You! First you bring me here and then you brainwash Kenji! What's with that?"  
A slight smile tickled his face. She certainly did have a temper, did she not?  
"I see you're catching on. This is sort of an experiment of mine, if you really want to know. The doctor is the one who does the necessary conditioning. I would prefer I do it myself with tried-and-true traditional methods, but I am forced to let him do it his way. I have not been able to see inside my own heir because of this. He seemed to react strongly to you, so I am curious to see how he is affected by you and how you two interact. This is why you live."  
  
She shook in her rage. "How dare you do this to him?! He doesn't want to..."  
Bakuryu lightly tilted his head and taunted, "Doesn't want to what, Miss?" Uriko, still pointing a shaking finger, stuttered, "To...to..."  
  
He calmly explained, "He is my heir. He will inherit my position as master of this school of ninjutsu. From that moment on, he will no longer be the Young Dragon. He will be master assassin Bakuryu, as I am, and as my master was, and his before him, and so on."  
Uriko shook and then thrust her finger again more as if to say, "Yeah, that!"   
"He doesn't want that!"  
"Does it matter? Fate has selected him as my heir, and the tradition must be upheld."  
  
"Not unless I do something about it!" she declared and shifted her stance.  
"Young lady, those are fighting words."  
She flew at him with every punch and kick she could pull off the top of her head. She was not even thinking of any form or combination technique; she nearly wanted to kill something. The old master lazily blocked all of the attacks, which he could see coming very easily.  
"Not bad," her opponent noted, "how long have you been training -- a few months or years?"  
He stepped back and focused his energy into the floor with the thrust of one hand. The next thing Uriko knew, she was immobilized as a shockwave of pain and paralysis stabbed through her core. She stood, shocked, for a few seconds before she fell limply to the floor.  
"Amateur."   
He casually walked away, through with dealing with a hotheaded teenager. Uriko, on the other hand, lay there for a few minutes until she heard a familiar voice.   
  
"Miss Kenji, are you okay?"   
She could barely even speak. "Kenji... I can't move..." she managed to groan. Her only friend brought her into a sitting position and gently rubbed one of her shoulders and then moved to lightly massaging her upper arm, asking, "Who did this to you? Are you not our guest?"  
  
She took a deep breath and she could feel her muscles relax already with his touch. At least he was polite, she thought. Assassin... Kenji was an assassin? She felt a chill run through her. Those hands had killed others. She was in the hands of a killer. A feeling of betrayal began to surface. Mister Mole was a murderer, as was Yugo's little brother. He had been next to her as she slept, as he had probably been with many people who are now dead.  
But, she reminded herself, it was not his fault. "They took me back," Kenji had said. These people must have been the "they" he was talking about and, surely enough, "they" took him back once more. Such dread was on his face when the master had come for him.  
"Kenji..." she moaned.  
"Is it wearing off now?"  
"Train me."  
"I.. I can't take students. I'm not the master yet."  
She cringed and forced out a lie from her inside she hoped she would not regret making.  
"Practice... It's practice for when you are. You'll know what to do when you get your heir."  
"I don't know if I'm allowed to teach Ninjutsu now."  
"You can keep your Ninjutsu. I wanna perfect my Kenpo with you." The young teen reached up with one hand and lightly cupped the side of his face. Her gentle fingers barely brushed his skin as she caressed him. Those milk-and-coffee colored eyes narrowed and she made herself almost seductive in her plea.  
"....please..?"  
Her hand could feel the warmth rising in the youth's face. The Young Dragon's mouth moved slightly, unsure of something to say, an her stared at her with wide eyes. It was a risky move, but her act seemed to be proving effective.  
"I... I guess it's alright."  
"Thanks."  
She let herself fall into his chest. Just she and Kenji were against the world now. He was all she had now. She would perfect herself with him, and he would remember her eventually, and they would escape together, just the two of them. Such a silly dream, but what else was she to do?   
~~~~~~~~~~~  
Mitsuko Nonomura's voice echoed from the office at the police headquarters. The fact that they could tell her almost nothing about her missing daughter had her completely and utterly outraged. She made the officer cower at his desk while Alice sat silently in the hallway.   
It was her fault Uriko was gone. She had that bright idea to prove to her mother Uriko could fend for herself just so she would not have to deal with her little sister and she was gone. How selfish!   
She let out a long sigh. It was all she could do now. She could not even cry anymore, unlike that man sitting opposite to her, the only other one there besides her. He looked so buff and strong with all those scars on his arms and face, and yet tears flowed from his eyes in regular intervals. Just about everything he saw seemed to remind him of whatever made him so sad and brought him back into another bout of despair.   
Someone walked up to him and told him Inspector Gado would be taking a little longer. So he was waiting for him as well? He was probably not aiming to yell in his face for not telling him anything, as her mother was planning to do. She decided to talk to him.  
"What's wrong?"  
".... My little brother... he's disappeared again."  
"Ah. My little sister's gone missing, too."  
"The first time was about a year ago. He came back just about a week ago and then vanished the next day."  
"That's really bad... Uriko-"  
For some reason, something set him off just then and he began to sob again. Alice dug into her pocket and produced a handkerchief. Cloth handkerchiefs were very unsanitary, so she only carried this one around for luck. Nonetheless, she handed it to the man.  
"Here."  
He accepted it and wiped his eyes, not noticing the rabbits embroidered onto its fabric along with her name. Alice's mother soon emerged from the office and curtly told her they were leaving. There was no arguing or dawdling when she was in this kind of mood. She followed her out, abandoning her keepsake.  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Young Dragon, where are you going?"  
The boy, startled at first, quickly bowed.  
"Forgive me. I thought we were through training, master."  
"We are. You seem to be in such a hurry, though."  
"What-"  
"It's that girl, isn't it? Don't act so surprised; it's too obvious you lust for her. She must be the first girl her age you've ever had in such close reach."  
The master looked up at his heir knowingly. The child looked confused. He lost so many years every time the doctor was through with him. He could only kill, it seemed. Otherwise, he knew barely nothing. What would he do when there was no more master to follow like an obedient little dog?  
When the boy left, he took out a little book he carried on him and jotted down some notes. He always was near her or looking at her. When it was time to eat, he ate with her. The two also seemed to be sharing frequent sparring matches, at which the girl seemed to be improving vastly in so short a time. Every chance he got, he would meet with her to train, and sometimes they would sit in the garden and talk. He still showed very few signs of remembering her or anything else other than his apparent crush. That girl's urgings could not summon back any memories of their time together. In her sleep she had told the master she had cared for him in a time of helplessness and he had decided to stay with her. If that was not pitiful enough, it seemed this was exactly what happened at the start of his five year absence. He had been with a "big brother" all that time, one the master decided to not hunt down after even a second time for some reason.  
  
The girl had quite a fiery sprit, as well as an interesting challenge: she was going to take Kenji back and escape, even if it meant making him fall in love with her. How intriguing, and also very risky, he thought.  
"Merely lust," he whispered to himself, "Perhaps a new stain on his soul will replace the old one."  
~~~~~~~~~~  
It was night and the halls were dark. A human wandered through the blackness for a certain object of his thoughts. He had such a fascination with her he could not understand. She was so different from the other ninja. Not only was she his age, but she was good company. She told him all about the strangest things, like track club and softball and tests. None of the others ever even mentioned those. She also spoke of a big brother he supposedly had, a "boxer." "Boxing," she said, was a way of fighting with the fists. It completely blew his mind that nobody was too seriously hurt or killed in these fights. This Yugo person even had a good friend who was at the same time a rival he often fought in these "boxing matches." Were people gathering to watch sparring matches? This was all too strange.   
He stopped by the tiny room that was hers and peeked in and found nobody. He decided to look around, his nose guiding him to the exit of his clan's quarters. Sure enough, there she was looking at the metal door that contrasted the look of the quarters like a snowball in the summer.  
"Miss Kenji?"  
She jumped up with a squeal. She did that a lot. When she saw him, she calmed down."  
"I'm Uriko! And what's behind there?"  
"That's the door to the rest of the building."  
She looked back at the door and whispered, "What's in this building?"   
"Hmm... other quarters... the main lab..." he listed, according to his vague knowledge.  
"Why don't we ever leave these quarters?"  
"I did... sometimes... I think. There hasn't been much going on lately... and I've been busy with you."  
The braided girl eagerly grasped the handle. "Let's take a look around, then!"  
"No!" His sudden objection made her jump. "We shouldn't go out at night."  
"Why not?"  
"I don't know. But it's midnight right now and you shouldn't go into the labs at night when everything's dark. I at least remember that."  
Uriko looked around and sighed. "It's midnight?" she echoed, wondering why there were no clocks in sight around here.   
"So what are you doing up at midnight?" she asked the young ninja.   
  
"Nothing really. I just woke up and I felt I should check up on you."  
"Did you think I was in danger?"   
"Well... no. I just thought I should see you." He then took a deep breath and asked, "Miss Kenji, could you tell me about you?"  
"About me?"  
"I want to know more about you and me. I was your pet, right?"  
"You could say that," the sighed. She told him about the worms she dug for him and the little box she made for him, how he sometimes wound up in her bed and how Alice was so damn sure he was rabid. She told him about the conversations they had in the middle of the night. He had asked her so many things at night.   
"You only saw me as a little mole, then?" he asked sadly.  
"Only until just before we were taken back. You were so cute and fuzzy. How was I to even imagine you were really a ninja?"  
While she continued to talk, he watched her face and her moving lips. It was peculiar how he dreamed of a kiss, only a small kiss. He thought of how he would take the opportunity and press his to hers ever so lightly and then step back. She would always give him a strange look and he would quickly walk away. Their friendship would probably be ruined after that one little thing he wished to share. What if she liked it? Every so often, his mind toyed with a more intense scenario, but that was just plain nonsense and he told himself to dismiss it.  
On the other hand, perhaps... he could just...  
The young lady was turned away from him at the moment and he was positioned so he could easily turn to her face from behind. What if he were to slowly move in... like so... He tilted his head and was almost there; all she had to do was turn her head ever so sightly in his direction. He purposely let her feel his breath so she could notice his presence. But when she turned to him, something came over him and he nearly froze in place. Panicking, he let his instincts take over.  
  
He did kiss her in the end, if it could be called a kiss and if it could count as its aim was off somewhat. He was just barely touching the edge of her lips with with mouth and pink nose and his nervously twitching whiskers tickled her face. His small eyes were shut tightly in his panic.  
She indeed looked at him strangely when he drew back. What was going to happen now?  
"Was that a mole kiss?"  
He looked at the floor in shame and made an embarrassed version of a familiar sound.  
"Squeak..."  
To the surprise of both teens, the girl smiled and put a finger to her chin. "If you want to kiss me... perhaps you should ask first." With another shameful squeak, he nodded and stood in place as Uriko returned to bed, voicing the possibility of him showing her around the building later on; she was tired of being cooped up in one place.   
Hanging his head, the large humanoid mole returned to his bed and lay down on his stomach, resting his head on his large paws. This was the way he usually slept. He let out a wistful sigh and gazed up at the ceiling.  
  
He had the feeling this would not be the end of the strange things she would make him do. 


	10. Stains of Blood

Chapter 10 is here after all this downtime. I was hoping I'd also have 11 as well, since some of you might have read chaper 10 at Tiger's BR Fanfic archive, but...  
It is incomplete. Also, it seems I might have to get a different browser to work FF.net. So! Another reason for the posting of this without Chapter 11 as its partner is to see if I need a different browser or not. I'm too impatient to wait for the official announcement on Tuesday. I'll probably be able to view the Bloody Roar fanfiction list by then. Until then... only the FF.net main page, fanfic pages, and profiles!  
  
  
Chapter 10: Stains of Blood  
~~~~~~~~~  
With a surprised squeal, Uriko roughly slammed into the padded mat. She saw her opponent lunge towards her and she rolled out of the way. He was in her blind spot, but her ears caught the faint rapid tapping noises of a ninja's footwork as he ran up the wall to prepare for another strike from above. Once again she had to immediately move away from his foot and find an entrance to move in for the attack.   
Kenji had been training her to fight an assassin. At first, the training had not been very serious, but with Uriko's demands and improvement, it became more like the training he and his master did every morning, actual fighting. She had already learned Kenpo and she sought to perfect the techniques she already knew, some of which the other ninja recognized as a known assassin's moves and techniques. Although her style was loose and clumsy, she was fast. Speed was the future Bakuryu's strong point as well, and it took quite a while for Uriko to get used to his movements as he started to go less and less easily on her.  
"Now!" she whispered when she saw an opportunity to use her chain. The idea was to move on to different successive strikes to take the opponent off guard and not allow him to think, as the attacks were coming in quickly one after another. "One, two, three-and-four..." she repeated to herself to keep a good rhythm so the strikes could be executed successfully. Kenji knew how to block her moves and when she moved in to deliver a final move, he pulled back, concentrated his strength into his palm and thrust it forward right into her, sending her flying back.  
  
He stood up and calmly walked up to the girl as she was starting to stand up. "You're too weak to defeat me," he told her while positioning hands, one with two fingers extended in the ninja fashion, just below his head.  
  
Uriko was furious. "Hey, hey... what's with that arrogant streak?"  
"'Arrogant...?'"  
She sat up crosslegged and pointed at him. "Yeah! You ninja are always going on about 'weakling' this, and 'you're too weak,' that, and... 'Amateur! Let's not forget the 'amateur' remarks! What's up with that?"  
  
"I'm merely stating a fact. You are too weak to defeat me."  
  
"While that may be true (for now)..."  
  
"See? You agree, so why are you getting angry?" he told her matter-of-factly, turning away from a flabbergasted Uriko to reach for a towel to wipe his head. When she asked him why they were quitting now, he told her he was going out with the master that night. They had a mission that night, and he had to prepare himself. It was his first, in a way. He should be back a little after midnight, he told her.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked while following him away from where they had been training.  
"I mustn't reveal the details of my missions."  
"Awww... come on..." she whined.  
"No."  
"Please? For me...?"  
He looked at her wither her hands folded together against the chin of her face, which bore a pleading expression. He raised an eyebrow and looked almost disgusted when he asked, "What are you trying to get me to do?" Without waiting for a response, he briskly walked away to where he was expected to be without another word.   
  
"So, young lady..." called an older voice from directly behind her. The brown haired girl jumped up with a "Kymphh!" caused by a hand blocking her usual cry. "That will not be necessary," he sighed.  
"Mkmyuumyuu..."  
"Right you are."  
He released her and she proceeded to take her usual offensive stance and her usual complaint about his tendency to pop up out of nowhere right behind her like that. In truth, it was a habit of all the ninja there to which she had not yet grown accustomed.  
"I presume you have heard of our outing?" he asked, "I suppose I don't need to tell you what a 'mission' for an assassin is, do I?"  
  
She hissed in a quiet voice, "You're making him kill people."  
  
"Your deductive ability astounds me."  
  
"Kenji doesn't want to kill people!"  
"'Doesn't want to...?' He doesn't seem to mind. The blood on his fingers affects him in no way at all. You, however... can you deal with it? You have never seen someone die, have you? If you knew what he could do first-hand... could you deal with it? Would you still be so devoted to freeing your precious 'Kenji' after that, or would you abandon him, too afraid to accept the truth about him? Your fleeting feelings would fail you, wouldn't they?"  
"Sh- shut up! I want to take Kenji away from all that! It's wrong!"  
"You will, will you?" he sighed, his slight smile taunting her.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"So, Ryu, I hear there is a mission tonight," the prince said, placing one hand on the Young Dragon's shoulder as he stood alone in a drab, metallic room. He, Bakuryu, and a few other ninja were in various areas outside their quarters, preparing the upcoming mission.  
The youth stared at him with wide golden eyes and asked him who he was supposed to be.  
"It seems every time I turn around I must reintroduce myself to you, Ryu. I am the Prince Cronos."  
He quickly bowed and gave an apology. Cronos sighed and muttered something about him at least being polite after his sessions.  
  
"Why did you call me 'Ryu?'"  
"Must I explain this again as well? I prefer it over 'Young Dragon,' just as I prefer you just call me 'Cronos.'"  
"Oh, I couldn't," the dark haired boy quickly objected, "that would be improper."  
Cronos glanced over to one side and sighed with a slight smile. "Perhaps that's why I only tell you to call me that." He supposed he only liked hearing the ignorant child pay him respect as if he really felt he was the royalty he was. He did not know the boy very well, and they were not exactly friends, but they shared an occasional conversation should one come up should they cross paths. He amused the prince; perhaps it was an "innocence" he had, if someone like that could be called innocent. He, too, was a pawn of corrupt individuals destined to continue deeds planned out for him.   
  
"I guess Miss Ken-, Uriko doesn't like that name either. She insists on calling me 'Kenji.'"  
"Do my ears deceive me, or do I hear a mention of a girl? A fellow ninja?"  
  
"No, she's someone the master brought."  
  
He asked why and the ninja told him he did not know. He told him he thought the master wanted him to have some sort of contact with her. The master kept on asking questions about her and what he did with her, which the acolyte found rather peculiar. When the prince asked what he thought of her, he was a little confused as to how to reply. She was nothing like anybody else. She was... she was...  
  
"Oho.." he crooned, casually seating himself on a rather depressing metal table which bore leather straps to hold down experiments, "It sounds like you're interested in her..."  
"Interested..." the ninja echoed, sitting down on the table as well.  
"Let me guess...," he sighed and held one hand delicately to his heart and closed his eyes, "you've never felt this way before... your heart pounds when she is near... her voice... pierces your very soul! She never leaves your mind and she runs through your dreams as you rest. She must be destined to be by your side, for you feel you were made for each other. She is heaven. She is your angel, the saving blessing that saves you from this horrid existence! Surely, love is blossoming in your heart and you wish to cultivate the exotic flower of love in hers as well, for words cannot even begin to describe the ecstasy of love!"  
  
Suppressing a chuckle at himself, he glanced over at the pale child, whose golden eyes were opened wide and staring at him. He nodded slightly though his speech, but was obviously taken off guard by some of the other things he said.  
"I...guess I went a little overboard with poetry, huh?"   
"Umm... I have had dreams about her..."  
"Is that so...?"  
"Last night, I dreamt we were in the little garden and we were talking like normal and then she asks me to kiss her. I can't, so she just walks up and kiss me... and she doesn't stop!"  
  
How old is he, fifteen, the prince thought, and he's acting all shocked over a dream like that?   
"I think I know what's happening here..." he mumbled, averting his eyes, while the Young Dragon continued to describe how she held him and easily pushed him to the ground and started holding and kissing him and doing things he could barely describe, all arousing a growing tension surrounding him. At one point, he looked up and saw the Master Bakuryu standing there, staring right at them.  
  
"I did NOT need to know that..."  
"But that was when I was sure this was something I wasn't supposed to be doing!"  
He began to try and tell her this was not right, but then she did something completely unexpected. With a large smile, she yelled for all to hear, "The old fart can go hang himself for all I care!" She planted another wet kiss on his mouth. "Now why don't you just come here and kiss me and let that shriveled up fossil 'disapprove' all he wants... he's just jealous."  
Had he just heard the name he thought he had heard? Had she just suggested what he thought she had suggested? An even greater shock was his reaction. He reached up and held her closer and started imitating her actions. Their hands' positions shifted and they moved to grope sensitive spots. When he finally did take her off him, he, with one single motion, pulled off the light frock she always wore, her only article of clothing and then he pounced on top of her and began to grab at her exposed body and pull it towards his own while she undid his shirt.  
"And then..."  
"Okayokayokay! You don't need to explain any further!" The prince yelled with the violent waving of one hand.   
  
"It's always the quiet ones."  
"But, it felt-"  
"I know how it feels!" he interrupted in a loud voice.  
"And what we did-"  
"I have a pretty good idea of what you did!" he yelled once again to block out anything he might say.  
He stopped him before he could talk again and told him, "Next time you find a biology book or something in the lab, look up 'human reproduction.'"  
"I know what human reproduction is... you put-"  
"It's more than 'A in B equals baby!' It's so much more! It's.... never mind (it's no use trying to explain it to you)..."  
The Young Dragon leaned over and gazed at the floor sadly. "I wonder why I deliberately disobeyed him like that... I actually smiled when she said those things about him."  
The other looked at him with narrowed eyes.".... was that wet dream about her or your master?"  
"'Wet...?' Oh, how did you know-"  
"Look, let's just change the subject. You have some people to slaughter, don't you?"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Uriko once again wandered into the indoor garden, wondering what time it was. She had still not found any clocks and it bugged her how the ninja were so well aware of the time and expected her to do the same even though there were no timepieces. She gazed up at the glass in the ceiling, through which shined an artificial moonlight onto the tamed wildlife and reflected off the clear water of the pond.   
She ignored it and moaned, "Isn't it midnight yet...?"  
"It is 12:07."  
"Kenji!"  
She turned around to greet him and then stopped when she saw the blood all over his hands, staining his clothes, and splattered onto his face. She took a few steps back while the teenage boy looked at her wondering what could possibly be troubling her.  
"Kenji... you're... covered..."  
"Oh, this?" he sounded innocently, motioning towards the stains, "It washes right out with a little soaking and scrubbing. We were expected and there was a fight. This normally doesn't happen unless there's a fight."  
He was simply covered in the stuff, and the bodily fluid's pungent smell stung her nose and sickened her. If she concentrated, she could made out little solid bits in the liquid. Were they pieces of the victim's body? She had known he was an assassin, but the real connection had not been made. Her Kenji had actually gone out... and spilled some living person's blood and ended his life. There were dead people somewhere right now, killed by his hands.  
"Miss Uriko, could you tell me about-"   
"Kenji... not now," she groaned, looking for something else to look at.  
"Miss Uriko?"  
"I can't talk to you right now. Not while you're looking like that. Tomorrow, okay?"  
She bade him good night and turned to leave. He glanced down at the browning red on his hands and tried to find whatever she found distressing.  
  
"Did... did I do something wrong..?"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"You couldn't handle it, could you?" Master Bakuryu questioned in a voice with a hint of amusement. Uriko looked down at the floor angrily.  
"What was that pledge again? You would make him remember, even if it meant making him fall in love with you, was it? You can't love a killer like my heir, can you? I thought not."  
  
She clenched up her gown in her fists and shook with the rage that man always seem to rouse up in her. She would show him! She stormed out of the room and not long after, the master heard an angry voice order, "Come on Kenji. We're training." and the loud thumping of her feet as she dragged him off by one hand.  
  
He pondered the experiment for a while. After a few minutes, a lower ninja approached him, bringing news of an uprising within the ranks. Some of the other groups of assassins -though they were more like riffraff and delinquents than assassins- were revolting elsewhere in the building and help was being requested to take care of these individuals, who were not that valuable in the first place, as their skills gave them a low rank among the other assassins there.   
  
"What a perfect opportunity..." he chuckled, much the lower ninja's confusion, and he immediately left to seek out the Young Dragon to halt his training session. The heir, of course, stopped everything at once when he was summoned. He quietly told him the details and the boy nodded and bore an unusual grim expression Uriko had not seen before. The wide-eyed boy she knew from before had disappeared, leaving behind what seemed to be the master in a younger body.  
  
"Mission accepted" was all he uttered before running off to complete his task.  
That Kenji, Uriko's mind told her, was different. So far, it had seemed "Kenji" and "Young Dragon" were basically the same person deep down inside, but the boy she had just seen had a glare which made a chill pass through her. She wasted no time in following him out of the ninja's quarters and into the rest of the building. She barely noted the labs and cages and the dreary surroundings, as she was now completely focused on following Kenji, not even wondering what she was expecting herself to do when she caught up with him.  
She could gradually hear more and more voices echoing through the halls. She started to see people running though the labs, breaking anything in sight. She could hear voices declaring, "We won't let them use us any longer! This is the last straw!"  
  
"There's one of them!" one yelled, and soon Uriko found herself running in the opposite direction to escape whatever fate they had planned for her. Three ganged up on her and one of them snatched her up from behind.   
  
"LemmegoLemmegoLemmego!" she squeaked, squirming in the man's arms. She never expected his grip to actually loosen in response to her demands. The other two men were perfectly still, their mouths wide open as they stared in her direction. Was it that much of a shock?   
  
It was then she noticed something wet and warm dripping down the back of her neck. When she looked up at her captor, she saw the tips of blood soaked ivory spikes peeking out from his face. Behind him was the hulking beast, one of the Clan of the Soil in his large mole form. It was Kenji.  
  
The other two made the starting motions to retreat, but it was futile. The mole violently thrust the corpse off his claws and killed the first, delivering two fatal swipes with his claws before thrusting the body to the floor with both paws, and then he moved to the second, stabbing his daggers into his gut with one paw, then the other, and then repeatedly with the first, despite the fact that the man was dead before the second strike impaled him.  
Others had noticed their deaths and while some ran, others came to try and defeat him with numbers. They met their deaths by his claws before they were even aware he was approaching them. He hopped onto the shoulders of the last one and twisted off his head before flipping down to eliminate those who had tried to run away.   
Was that really Kenji? Uriko's body trembled and she took a step forward only to slip and fall in the blood and entrails that smothered the floor and easily soaked into the bright white fabric she wore. Her chest heaved at the sensation of being completely smeared in what was left of a once living person. Rational thought slept away from her and she began to hyperventilate.   
  
A small splattering sound accompanied each approaching footstep. A quiet voice reached was muttering to itself, so she could barely hear the words.  
"...at my master's command, I rain fear and death upon the accursed. I am master of stealth, user of the Dark..."  
Without even wanting to, she croaked, "K..Kenji...," in a choked voice.  
His cold eyes shifted to the only living form on the floor and he wasted no time in roughly flipping her over and clamping her neck with one hand.  
"You. Why were you here? Are you one of them?"  
Her breaths became high pitched gasps which pained her lungs. Tears started to spill from the corners of her eyes.  
"Speak!"  
Instead, she bawled loudly. He examined her silently and then said to himself, still in that stern and unfeeling voice, "No. You have never set foot out here have you? You wanted to know what I was up to, and you followed me." His look softened. "Are you hurt?" His face returned the one she knew and he picked her up to help her in case she was injured.  
"What's wrong?" he asked her while she clawed at his soaked shirt, buried her face in it and sobbed uncontrollably. 


	11. Questionable Actions

Too innocent... my Kenji is WAY too innocent...

He's STUPIDLY innocent... but I guess I can't go back on that now!

Can you believe this chapter became "too big" for a single simpletext document when I was writing the last little section? I didn't think I'd be that long! When I plugged it into Word and finished it, the whole thing became 18 pages!

And is it just me, or is there a lot of nodding going on? 

As before _please _review so I don't whither and die, _die!_

"So Is everybody this lonely when in love? They'll hold onto a feeling deeper than the shadows?"

Chapter 11: Questionable Actions

~~~~~~~~~

Uriko shook violently and wore out her lungs sobbing in the arms of a confused Kenji. Soon, the master appeared and told him he had successfully disposed of all the nuisances. When his acolyte asked him what was wrong, he replied she must have been frightened by the events that took place. The Young Dragon agreed and recalled she had been captured by some of them when he came. Still, they were gone now. Were they doing something very scary before he came?

Something nagged at the back of his head in a voice he could barely hear. It was a presence he could often feel trying to tell him something, as it had knowledge he did not have. This time, it was telling him he was the scary one. 

But why should she have been afraid? Was she one of those ruffians he had been told to kill? He had saved her, on top of that.

He finally heard some of the voice's message: Can you not see how frightening you are....

The Young Dragon shook his head and shooed the voice away and tried to purge his mind of those troubling thoughts. 

"Enough of standing in this mess," his master ordered, "Do you know what to do now?"

"We... wash ourselves," he answered quietly.

"Correct. It is important not to soak in blood. Do you know why?"

"It burns."

"Pardon?"

The boy looked up at his master with a surprised face. "It burns," he repeated as if it was the most obvious thing. "It's unsanitary," the master corrected. "Is that why it burns?" his pupil asked him.

The master ignored this question and explained blood can take away one's self control. This girl was an example of one kind of loss of control, one that completely shuns any such action out of fear of blood. Some lose their control a different way. Some bathe in blood and enjoy pain and suffering and seek to make their victims die in the worst way possible for their enjoyment. They lie back and bask in the glory they have declared theirs and they become spoiled.

The Clan of the Soil was better than that, Bakuryu explained. They carried out the assassin's mission the proper way. Killing was a job and a living, no more, no less. There were assassins in this building who had lost their control long ago. These were bad examples and company he should shun. He wanted his heir to have a steady head.

Bakuryu then thought to himself, his control is good, but for the wrong reasons. He still must get over this post-brainwashing condition and gain back his years and maturity. Hopefully, they would keep him up to par for a long time before the doctor would find a reason to have another session with him. That was the challenge Bakuryu faced. 

If only the Young Dragon could learn not to lose control...

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Miss Uriko... are you feeling better today?" Kenji asked from the door. She had not left her bed since she had been laid there. She had given no response and her only movement was the occasional shifting of her position. She was curled up, facing the wall, or at least that was what he thought; the blanket completely hid her. 

"Uriko, aren't you hungry? You didn't eat at all yesterday. You should at least come out of bed."

Suddenly, the thought entered his mind that maybe she had died and he immediately placed one hand on top of the large lump in the sheets and shook her slightly. The form shook off the disturbance and shrank back into its curled up form. It was then that he heard a slight hiccup.

"Uriko?" 

He peeled away the blanket and saw her. Her hair was unkempt from tossing and turning and her eyes were puffy and red and wet. She was still crying? She glanced up at him and appeared to be troubled by the mere sight of him.

"You are afraid of me, aren't you..."

His master stepped behind the pondering youth and barked, "Young Dragon!"

At the sound, he immediately stood to attention. "Yes, Master!"

"You have a daytime mission. A rather interesting assignment, actually. Come."

The Young Dragon nodded and started to follow, but two hands clutched his ankle. The girl held his foot closer to her in trying to stop him. In a raspy voice, she begged, "Kenji... don't... Please don't go with him."

"Uriko," he told her in his usual quiet voice, "This is my Master. Don't speak as if he was not trustworthy."

"Don't go with him!" She pressed her face against the metal of his leg guard. "He'll make you kill more people!"

That was what was wrong with her, was it not? Killing frightened her. That should be easy to solve!

"Miss Uriko, missions inside this building are very rare. We will probably be outside, so you won't be scared, right? And then you'll get better, right?" He paused and placed one hand on her head and said hopefully, "Just in case it's in here, you stay put so you don't get scared. Rest up and get better."

She tried to protest, but Kenji casually stepped out of the room. When she tried to get up to call him back, his master forced her back into bed with a kick. "You stay in your place," he hissed.

Outside, his master explained to the acolyte his mission. Apparently, daytime was the only time it could be pulled off. It merely required some infiltration to allow a little hacking to be done from a safe distance. All he had to beware was of some security issues, which would frame them for different crimes.

~~~~~~~~~

The young boxer sat slumped at the table of his favorite restaurant and stared at his favorite steak, which did not arouse his appetite and cheer him up as he had hoped. Fortunately, there was always the beer to fill him up and attempt to ease his pain, but even that was not very satisfying. He glanced over at the half full glass of another helping of the brown-gold drink and decided he did not want to get that drunk. Kenji would not like that. 

His hand played with the cloth napkin and he put it over his hand and tied and folded it so two "ears" stuck out from the top.

"Look Kenji," he chuckled with a slight smile, looking over the table, "It's a...."

He saw nothing and was reminded he was alone.

"... A rabbit."

He pulled the makeshift puppet off and rested his head in one hand. The food he loved only brought back memories of an unhappy looking Kenji, frowning in distaste at the kind of cuisine Yugo liked as he nibbled at a simpler side dish.

Gado had practically yelled his ears off once more when he found out he had lost Kenji, especially after such a short amount of time. Even if he was not talking to him, they might have gotten something out of the girl he had brought with him. Yugo burst out of the station after giving the inspector a piece of his mind. All he cared about was his stupid "case," whatever that was about. What about his little brother? What was really happening to him? Gado seemed to know. What was he keeping from him?

When Yugo left the restaurant, he nearly stumbled once or twice as he walked down the street. He was not exactly drunk, but he had consumed enough alcohol to cloud up his mind considerably, which only added to the clouds of his sorrow. With nothing to think about but his sadness, he wandered through the haze to walk his loneliness away.

He had not wandered too far from home when neared by the Pendon Corporation building. People in business suits walked up and down the sidewalk, all looking like they had something very important to do. He was a stranger to this world, but they were all the frequent customers the vendors and local stores existed to serve. He wandered down the longer side of the block, not very well populated and hidden in the shadow of the corporate giant.

And then, there was a loud crash when some blurry form crashed into the street from out of nowhere back in the sunlight. He heard screams and car horns. An unusual-looking character burst out of his van and and ran to the scene. He seemed to not notice Yugo's presence in the dark alley. He hurried back with a limp body in his arms. Yugo watched dumbly while he thrust the form into the back of the van and sped off.

That was just a kid, Yugo thought as the car began to make its escape. What a strange yellow outfit he was wearing...

Kenji! The revelation came all too late. He limped into the street and tried to lock his lazy eyes onto the vehicle.

"Kenji!"

His limping picked up a little speed and a strange hope that he would somehow catch the car controlled him from the back of his mind.

"Ken-"

The last thing he heard was an overwhelming high-pitched squeal, followed by a quick burst of agony, before everything became dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bakuryu..." the doctor crooned, "You know he's deteriorating..."

The old ninja stubbornly looked away from him, "He is an amateur. Don't think every mistake is an excuse to work on him."

Hajime chuckled. "My! I never expected the proud Bakuryu, of all people, to hide behind his heir's mistakes and use them as an excuse... What's the world coming to?"

He tightly clutched his fists so that he felt he would break his own fingers by the force his hands were exerting on themselves. He silently hissed his rage and hoped Busuzima would not hear him to know he had indeed pushed the exact right button. 

"He is an amateur because of his forgetfulness... which you have caused," he decided to say, "Besides, a mere miscalculation turns up every now and then."

"That 'miscalculation' nearly got him killed."

Bakuryu had made a severe miscalculation, triggering a security program aimed towards eliminating his kind. The "computer" at which he was working let out a field of energy, similar to the one a zoanthrope lets off when forcefully transforming. It sent him flying back and out of the building. Fortunately, his fall was not a great one... and perhaps thanks could have been given to his "enhancements." Some good had come out of all the times the doctor messed with this valuable individual. For his size, he was very strong. His bones were much more sturdy and his senses were tweaked so he did not have to rely on mole traits that happened to "leak" into his human form (such was the case for most zoanthropes). In the right state, when he was up to par, his mind could enter such a high concentration it would astound him, but eventually he would deteriorate and lose his will to complete his missions, even though he was still a very loyal ninja. His concentration and memory would waver though he tried to stay focused. At that point, they would have to start all over again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Prince shook his head and repeated the story for the umpteenth time, leaning on the table on which he had set a bag he was carrying at the moment he saw the subject of the stories going around the building at this time.

"So," he stated to make sure his mind was not playing tricks, "you were hurled backwards..."

The young ninja nodded.

"...You went through the window..."

The young ninja nodded once more.

"...You fell into the street, denting a car while you were at it..."

The young ninja nodded just the same.

"...And you're standing here with just a few bandages?!"

"Well, The Doctor gave me something that made me heal quickly."

".... SOMETHING THE DOCTOR GAVE YOU WORKED?!"

"I heard that!" a familiar voice called from down the hall.

With a sigh, he tossed back his pale hair and began in a profound voice, "I simply refuse to believe this outrageous claim! To think... our dear doctor actually doing something beneficial for his wounded patients! Perhaps... the seed of hope has indeed not died, but has sprouted into a growing sapling for the world to nurture... My life regains its meaning..."

"Oh, shut up... " said doctor mumbled before going back to his business.

"So Ryu... you say that girl of yours is sick?"

He nodded, this time looking downwards sadly. "I scared her... she followed me when I had to eliminate some delinquents... and she got really scared."

The prince agreed it was a rather gruesome sight. And she had been there to witness it. She had probably never imagined such an event could even take place. 

"She isn't better. She's still in bed and she refuses to come out."

"A horrifying event such as that would not fade from the young lady's mind very easily, I would imagine. I would think she would be absolutely opposed to being near you."

"Oh...?"

The Young Dragon himself was now the frightened one. 

"What am I to do...?"

"I am no psychologist, however... you could perhaps show her you are the softie you really are. Give her a present of some sort, I suppose. Get her into thinking you are harmless once more."

He made a slight noise with his teeth in the back of his mouth and said with the most humor one could sneak into the subject, "In fact, it's actually not that hard to convince people you are harmless, and not the cold-blooded killer you also are."

There it was. Something about the way he said "killer" told him that was at the heart of this. Something about the way many people talked about him and his occupation told him this was at the heart of this. His conflict with the voice arose once more.

__

Can you not see how frightening you are, his soul whispered, in how you wield your claws and easily destroy many in a gory display?

Was he doing it the wrong way, then? Perhaps if he did not let blood get everywhere...

No, the silence told him, his technique was perfect. He killed perfectly. The point was that he killed.

But he was supposed to kill them! The master had confirmed his mission as a success.

It was wrong. 

"It... It is, isn't it...? Killing..." he whispered. When there came news of a mission, a cold wave made his spine tingle. Indeed, his core shuddered when he stopped them from living. Indeed, his skin burned when drenched in blood. 

No! It was not good to think of such things! Killing was his livelihood, his destiny! It was what he would train his heir to do!

"No" he choked, starting to shake. He clutched at himself and mumbled, "No... No, no, no..." It was not true! He was still good. He was loyal, and so he was good! He was a good student...

"Eh, Ryu? Ryu, snap out of it!"

Cronos lighly slapped his cheek and told him he looked like he was having another episode. 

"Another" episode, he pondered.

The heir pulled himself together and concluded, "She was just surprised. She'll get better."

"Whatever," Cronos sighed, "Anyway, if you want to keep a lady, you will have to get over the bumps or somebody else will come along in your time of difficulty and snatch her away."

"Huh?!" He practically panicked when Cronos said this.

"I'm saying, Ryu, that the man who makes the first move wins in such a game. The lady goes to whoever is able to claim her first. After that, all there is to do is to sit and feel miserable, feeling guilty because you are praying for their relationship to fall apart so you can have your chance.... And if it is forever... you are left regretting not taking advantage of your missed chance. She is forever out of your reach."

He voiced an almost inaudible "Oh..." and glanced at the prince with a hopelessly worried look. Cronos saw him overreact and lightened up, placing one hand on his shoulder.

"But I don't think there's any competition around her! She's pretty much stuck where she is and you're probably the only ninja she will trust, so don't waste the opportunity, okay, Ryu? Make the first move -- Remember that!"

He nodded obediently as he usually did and told him he would miss out on his chance. The prince, along with an encouragement, slammed one bronze fist onto the table and accidentally thrust it onto the corner of the package he had set there, summoning an audible squishing noise, followed by the presence of some kind of liquid. When he saw what he had done he whispered a foul expletive in a mere hiss under his breath.

He had just gotten a shipment of high quality foods, this one consisting primary of fruits (and rather juicy ones, it seemed). He opened the parcel to see what he had crushed and something red and green caught the ninja's eye. Cronos explained those were strawberries, and good ones at that. Unlike the "mutant" strawberries normally sold, these were small and dark with long thin stems. They gave off a very noticeable and pleasant sweet smell. They were a more wild variety.

Kenji's eyes lit up and something went off inside him that immediately associated these berries with Uriko. Was he remembering something? 

"Prince Cronos, may I have one?"

"I don't see why not," he said and held a small basket of them in his direction. Kenji literally took only one small berry, thanked him, and ran off with it clutched in his hands as if it were a precious treasure. He rushed back to his clan's quarters and immediately headed for the bed where the "sick" girl lay.

He had not expected her to be sleeping. He found a note saying they had managed to sneak a sleeping drug into her, and she should be sleeping very soundly. He looked at her and found she still turned and twitched in her sleep and she still looked very troubled despite the fact she was supposed to be in a deep slumber. Although it was good she could finally rest, it was a slight disappointment that he would have to wait to give her his special present. After all, he had to complete the evening rounds with his master soon, so he continued with his business.

Nonetheless, his instincts brought him back at the stroke of twelve. He rose from his slumber and knew was to see her.

This time, he held the present in a small paper box and stood over her sleeping form. He watched her silently as if he were waiting for something to happen. Every once in a while, she would turn and sometimes a slight sound of distress came from her. She was even scared in such a deep sleep. The suggestion of hypnosis crept into his mind and it seemed to make sense and not be an invasion. Sleeping drugs could make the subject not as receptive and he could not completely change her will by just words, but he decided to try anyway and leaned over to chant the mantras into her ear to bring the girl to listen.

He had no questions, but he merely begged her not to fear him. He wanted her to get better. He did not want this shadow looming over his soul that he had done something wrong. He could not think and carry out what he was supposed to do with such a weight.

"And if you're still afraid, then.."

He pulled back the covers and slipped into bed with her.

"Then I'll sleep right here, next to you."

It took a while, but she slowly slurred his name and recognized his presence. She did not seem as distressed when he touched her face as he brushed back a rumpled lock of hair. He shifted in closer and liked the feeling of being next to someone before drifting off into dreams.

~~~~~~~~~~~

When Yugo awoke, he sensed the white lights were not fitting the time of night that could be felt in the air. The walls were bright white and so were the sheets of his small bed and the little desk. Some color came from a picture of a famous painting hung on the wall, or was it really a wall? It was a very thin wall of a cubicle, one of many that lined the hallway. He could see outside the "door" of his area if he leaned to the left a little and saw a little cart of cups, catheters, pills, and all sorts of medical junk. The boxer was in a hospital. He sat up and found he was sore all over. In fact, certain parts of his body were wrapped in bandages.

He cringed and forced himself out of bed. Walking was torture when one felt like he was completely covered in one giant bruise. Down the hall of the small quarters of emergency room patients was a desk at which two nurses were seated, neither very busy at this time of night. His arrival startled one and she immediately snapped to attention.

"What are you doing out of bed, Mister..."

"Ogami..." he groaned, "I'm Yugo Ogami."

"...Mister Ogami?" the nurse completed. Her hands immediately went for the files to look him up. Her eyes widened at the computer screen's displayed information.

"What the hell happened? I feel like I was hit by truck..."

"Well, it wasn't exactly a truck.... Thankfully, there were no broken bones or serious injuries other than that concussion."

Yugo just moaned and cradled his sore head. He could now officially say concussions hurt like hell. The nurse remembered something. 

"Oh, you're the one who... Alice!"

She looked behind her and called her, asking if she was on duty. Then, she noticed she was seated at the computer right next to her. She did not respond and was emitting a low hissing sound. The other nurse leaned over, grabbed her dark pigtails sprouting from the sides of her head in either hand, and yanked hard.

"Alice!"

She shook her head sat up straight all of a sudden, "I'm up! I'm up! I can do the late shift! I can do the early morning shift and the afternoon shift, too!"

"He's awake, Alice."

"Who?"

"The handkerchief person."

"That's right," Alice said and then told the patient, "We've met before. The police station..."

Yugo remembered that day and reached into his pocket to grab the item, but then was reminded he was wearing hospital clothes. "Oh. You're Alice... 'Nonomura?'"

"That's right. Did they... um... find your brother?"

The term "brother" started the wheels in his mind. Before he said "no," he thought back to a part of his mind that called to him. He was not in his right state of mind and there was that explosion...

"Kenji!" he yelled all of a sudden. He looked around frantically and wanted to do something right then and there, but there was no place from where to start.

"Mister Ogami...?

"I saw him... I saw Kenji! He was knocked out and this weird guy ran off with him. He jumped in a van and got away and-"

He was absolutely sure it was not an ambulance, as the girls had suggested. This was a wild looking individual with grass for hair, bad posture, and casual dress. He was up to no good. Was he the one Kenji was with when he disappeared? "They took me back," Kenji had said... Was he the reason Kenji was so sickly and pale? Was he why he refused to speak? Was he why Kenji was so disturbed, as many put it?

That man took his brother. He would not forget his face. May he have endured the painful death he would surely have in store for such a fiend if he would forget his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The darkness still clung at her mind and she yearned to stay in a gelled state, stuck in her bed. Trying to go back to sleep would be futile now, but one could still try to achieve a state very close to sleep. The sheets were warm and soft as well as the form surrounding her. Some large and heavy almost hurt her by resting on her side. Whatever it was, it was massive and covered in velvety plush. Her upper body rested on something similar. Her face and front were nuzzled into cloth, but something else was undernearth it and could be felt through the fabric. Underneath this texture was more solid substance, something very hard, heavy, and well defined. Then she recognized its slow movement, along with a very faint sigh, a very slow and airy "squeak."

Uriko shifted her position and tried to get into a slight sitting position. She moved so she could see the other side of the bed and that was when saw the claws.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day.... whatever number it is I'm too damn tired

I swear by the first whisker if I had a specific amount of money every time I heard that shriek I would be considerably wealthy. Even when she isn't yelling at me, she's yelling over something. Damn kids. Why do people make them to begin with? 

If he kills her, it will be an "interesting observation." Yes, that sounds good. I am not losing sleep over this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hulking creature practically danced around the room and took up fighting positions, particularly the ones that bared his claws as he prepared for an attacker he had not detected. He sniffed the air and looked around and listened and then decided there was nobody there. The Young Dragon became human, eyes narrowed and lips firmly pressed together. He continued to watch every corner of the room suspiciously. Kneeling on front of the frightened girl so he could be at eye level with her, he asked her what she saw.

Her mouth moved rapidly, trying to find the words. Stuttering noised poured from her mouth before she pulled herself together enough to almost shout, "It was you!"

"M-me? I wasn't attacking you!"

A guilty look came over her face and she said more quietly, "N-not you... that mole..."

"But I thought you liked my mole form. I'm cute and fuzzy."

"Not after all that! I can't sleep!"

"Did I scare you that much...?"

"Did you scare me?!" she shouted into his face, "How do you think I feel after seeing all that?! I can't think! I can't eat! I can't do anything! If I do fall asleep, I keep on dreaming the moles are coming to kill me!"

He told her encouragingly, "Why would they do that? You are our guest."

"You all would kill me without waiting if you were told to," she choked, pulling her legs to her chest, "I'd be no different from those people to you."

"Uriko! Please don't talk about such things! You know that probably won't happen!"

"And what if it did, Kenji? You'd probably enjoy killing me just the same!" 

The heir found that one word interesting. "I... I don't enjoy it," he told her with an odd firmness in his voice, "And I would not enjoy killing you."

He took a seat next to her against the wall and let out a long breath. A look of embarrassment came over him when he said, "I really don't like killing people, now that I think about it. I mean, I'm not supposed to like it or hate it, but deep down... I feel like I'm doing something awful."

"But Kenji," she exclaimed in a bewildered tone of voice, "It is awful!"

A shaky voice answered back, "It is, isn't it... No, I'm good! I'm obedient! I practice! I don't bathe in blood like the others! I'm not doing something bad. I'm supposed to do that!"

Like when he was with Cronos the day before, his arms found their way around himself, a chill came over his body, and he began to gasp like Uriko had in the past days. 

"No..."

His eyes darted around frantically, and he found the little paper package by the head of Uriko's bed. He quickly snatched it up and nearly shoved it in her face.

"This is for you," he blurted, still in his panic, "Please get better! You like those, right?"

Her small hands took off the folded paper lid and saw what had begun to leak red juice and soak the bottom half. How strange. Uriko, now confused, looked up at Kenji.

"You're so juvenile. You're completely different now, not like the Kenji I first met."

She was unhappy with him. He was not the Kenji she wanted, was he? He was not the Kenji she cared about. 

She knows as well, his soul told him, and you have always known. You cannot handle what you do, can you? 

Was she bad then? She could not be! He knew she was good.

She was indeed good. 

So, the Young Dragon figured, he was the bad one!

But why was he bad? Was he not doing what he was supposed to be doing?

He blocked out anything else the voice tried to say and consumed himself with the pain of his own insides crumbling in his confusion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakuryu knew it was happening when he saw his acolyte fall so easily. He protested and told him he was concentrating and he was doing his best, but the Blast Dragon could see it in his eyes. He was deteriorating already. He had not even returned to his acceptable state, he just went straight into deterioration. How disgusting. Was that girl responsible for the speed at which this happened?

"Enough of this," he said curtly.

"M-Master?! I've been practicing! I was trying!"

"Enough."

"You're angry with me, too..."

The old master looked back at the boy. "Hm?"

"But I can get better if we keep training. Let's continue!"

"No!" he ordered, sending him back into his place, "I know you will only get worse at this point. It's no use..."

He faced away and wiped his forehead. Sighing, he thought out loud, "I give up. Perhaps the only thing to do is keep sending you back..."

"To the Doctor..? I'm going to get forget everything, aren't I?"

"Yes, Young Dragon, you're going to forget again. It's no use talking about it. Let's go."

He started to follow, but then he objected the idea. "But I want to remember," he said, "Forgive me, Master, but there's so much I want to find out. And... you get angry when I forget things."

Bakuryu, ashamed he was admitting Busuzima was right all these years, told him it was just something he would have to teal with. Then, his heir said to nobody in particular, "I'm always doing something wrong, aren't I?" When asked about this, he explained the master was always displeased in some form, and how he knew deep down something was seriously wrong when he did his missions, even if he was sure he did them correctly. To add to that, Uriko told him what he did was 'awful.' It troubled him greatly. He was good, was he not? Surely the master could tell him!

Bakuryu saw the pleading look in his eyes and pondered this. So, his deterioration was indeed connected to a loss of control. Perhaps the girl was the only reason this was brought on, but if this was really some inner instinct, then this opened up something completely different for the old mole. 

"We're not seeing the doctor."

So this was about ethics, was it? If his guess was right, the Young Dragon must have never gotten the chance to get over that little difficulty. After all, he had known to expect tainting to last long, but fade away eventually, if treated to correctly (and the doctor was preventing proper treatment). The taint on his soul from the first time he had gotten into trouble was slightly different from what he had imagined. Perhaps there was hope for making him a proper ninja, one fit to be Bakuryu.

He could not lose this progress now, he decided. He listened and felt for eavesdroppers and then whispered to his student, "Young Dragon, this is very important. You are to stay away from the doctor."

The youth blinked in confusion. "But what if he tells me to see him? I can't-"

"You can and you will. Stay away from him. Perhaps it would be best to stay away from that girl as well for the time being. That is an order. You'll... be good, won't you?"

He nodded eagerly and told him he would stay put.

A very faint smile, though this time without his usual intent behind it, graced his face. 

"That's my boy. You know what to do."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hajime Busuzima tried to ignore the prince, who was following him around and making his life miserable. He turned around and reminded in an annoyed voice, "I do have experiments that result in people NOT vomiting blood for extended amounts of time! What is it with you and vomiting blood? Can't you leave me alone?"

"For your information, it's a little hard to ignore somebody leaving pools of blood all over the building -- I nearly broke my neck because of one of those!"

"Oh, how lucky we all are..." he moaned.

"And when you're not experimenting, you're just mooching off Tylon!"

"And when you're not being a total ASS, you're mooching off us too, so leave me alone already!"

"Hey," Cronos interjected with one hand daintily placed over his heart, "I mooch for the side of good."

The scientist dismissed him with some nasty comments mumbled under his breath and a loose hand gesture, but he would not leave.

"Oi, Dr. Freak! I got a challenge -- I DARE you to do an experiment that _doesn't_ involve a live subject. I'll bet you can't do that!"

He turned around and locked his narrow slits onto Cronos' emerald eyes. "As a matter of fact... I have one. You had better stop bugging me after you see it."

Cronos did a mock faint, complete with the touch of the back of one hand on his forehead. "I never thought I would live to see the day! He who finds a way to brutally molest souls in tests to find out if spinach tastes good in a quiche claims he has a test that does no harm to any living creature! Why I do not know what to say. The words are beyond me."

He passionately clutched at his breast and cooed, "Be still, my beating heart; this is, indeed, reality."

"Oh, shut up," the green haired man groaned. He entered his favorite work area, the one with his main desk, and turned on the lights and gathered supplies. Many little jars of red fluid were produced from the cupboards. The test he would be doing was an observation of how the genetics of typical zoanthropes reacted to a certain stimulus he had been brainstorming about.

"This does not count. It's obviously going to result in more painful experiments later on. Hélas! Optimism is at once shot from the sky by a painful and tragic blow!"

"If you don't like it so much, then don't watch!"

"I shall not. You are still the same horrible man. Good day to you."

Spouting more poetry, the prince went his ways and Busuzima was alone once more. He was serious about the experiment, however, and continued what he had started, setting up the equipment. He nearly spilled the jar of "female horse #15" when somebody else rudely interrupted his important work.

"Hajime!"  
"Good grief," he mumbled with one hand over his face, "If it isn't one, it's the other."

He stood with a hint of slink in his spine that showed off his defined stomach muscles through his unbuttoned Chinese style shirt. Its deep maroon, accented by its gold embroidering, went well with his blood red eyes. The tails of his shirt fell loosely around his dark blue pants, the blue-on-blue patterned cloth spilling over the sides of his leather shoes. To complete his look, his neck was adorned with a gold chain and black finger less gloves clothed his hands. A few locks of black hair escaped his slicked back hairstyle and hung over and around his face, which was mature, masculine, and rather attractive for a man to have. The scars that highlighted his chin and left cheek were no accident. They existed to accent his looks.

His hands casually resting in his pockets, he tilted his head back and called out the doctor's name once more. "Hajime!"

"Shenlong!" he cried with a mock happiness, his oversized hands clasped together, "You've caught me at a very busy time. You see, I"

The man, who looked to be in his thirties, stopped his sentence short to make way for his important demand, "Shut it, grass man. You know what I want." 

"Supreme power and dominion over all and everything a woman can't resist?" Busuzima asked sarcastically.

He made a pleased, "Hmmm," as if to say, "Why wish for something I already have in spades.

"Quit the flattering. I hunger for waffles."

". Waffles."

"And that syrup you got last time," he added.

"You came all the way here To interrupt my research For waffles."

He nodded with closed eyes and a lazy smile. "Those shits are good."

"After I'm done," he told him.

"No. Now."

"I'm busy! I've got a whole project set up!"

"Now. I want them. Now."

He tried to come to some kind of compromise. "Just let me get my control group together how's that?"

His glowing eyes felt like red spotlights on his face when he glared at him. "You'd best not take your time," he growled with fiery hate.

He gasped an "Okay," and set out to find a sample of non-zoanthrope blood. During all that collecting of zoanthropes and their samples and during all that research, he had forgotten to stockpile regular blood. Still, he was not patient enough to wait for an order of the fluid now that he had found the time to get around to this experiment and he decided to scrounge around for any drop of the stuff that might have been left in his possession. 

Then, he remembered his "To Do" basket. Was there not a recent blood sample in there yet to be tested?

"I _thought_ you said you'd just get your control group," Shenlong threatened when the scientist turned on a machine and fed it a small amount of blood from the container.

"That's what I'm doing! I'm just scanning this to see what's in it. We just have to wait a little for the results to come up."

What was unmistakably a low nonhuman growl came from his throat and he shot daggers into him from his glare, already fed up with the prospect of waiting even more.

Words and statistics showed up on the computer screen, which Busuzima could interpret like a second language. He nodded his head and continued to scan through the results, and then his eyes widened. He reread the statistics, his eyes darting back and forth over the words repeatedly before continuing. He scrolled down the report a little further and then saw something which was apparently very shocking and, grasping the monitor with his hands, pulled his head in so his nose touched the screen.

"Holy-! No way!"

He leapt from his chair and looked around for the bottle, yelling, "Whose blood IS this?" Shenlong, still as bored as before, leaned over to the screen and said dully, "Amazing. It's a bunch of jibberish - Oh, sorry. I mean, Science.'"

"This is new," he noted, reading the number and checking it against his list of subjects, "The number isn't here, but I'll bet this is..." 


	12. The Resident Ghost and a Goddess

Busu swipes some lyrics from the dub version of Photon Proton Sychrotron and Cronos steals one of movie version Allen Schezar's lines

I'm using the term "the prince" too much and I can't really find a way to refer to Shenlong other than "Shenlong."

I'm uploading this almost immediately after finishing it. It's not a good idea, but.

I'm desperate for reviews. 

I saw people who never left reviews for MidMole leave reviews for Kiss From a Rose! Well, I guess length has something to do with it, but

I write faster when I get more reviews. It's that simple.

"And no one knows it — Where she came from; where she's going and once you meet her, you will find that something inside is changing."

Chapter 12 — The Resident Ghost and The Goddess

~~~~~~~~~

In his clan's indoor garden, a large humanoid mole was on his knees, going through the flower bed with his claws. The Young Dragon was instinctively drawn to the earth, as a mole, but he knew very well he could only do a little gardening at most. A tunnel close to the surface, would uproot the grass and make the sanctuary look unkempt. Also, he had to be in a state of readiness, so ditching his gi and fulfilling that urge as an average small mole was not a good idea. It was very fortunate his mole mentality was not too strong, or just being out of the soil and in the light too long would have made him insecure and suicidal. The gleaming ivory claws tilled and aerated the soil and made it ready for new flowers, which lay in their own little squares of potting soil in a tray next to him. He dug out little ditches in the empty bed for the new residents and carefully arranged the flowers so the patch looked just right. 

He sat back and admired his work. They were, indeed, pleasing to the eye. Letting out a breath, he reverted to his human form and held his hands to his face and let a few particles of soil rub off on his cheek. He closed his eyes and inhaled the smell of fertile earth. It was so pleasing to his senses. When he opened his eyes, the heir caught a glimpse of something wriggling in the soil. When he saw it was an earthworm brought to the surface by his stirring of the soil, he licked his lips and snatched it up. Holding it up above his head in one hand, his gold eyes quickly glanced around and listened to make sure nobody was watching him. When he found the coast was clear, he opened his mouth and began to transform back into the beast who would enjoy this little treat more than he would.

"Kyaaaaaaaa-!"

He dropped the creature and spun his head to let his ear lock in on the sound. "M-Miss Uriko?"

"Let go of me! Get offa me!" he heard her voice shriek.

"Look, kid, I dunno what Doc wants with you, but quit squirming," a bored voice of a mature man told her, "I want my damn waffles already."

"No! Let go! I said get off! Help!"

The Young Dragon nearly got to his feet, but then he remembered there were two people involved whom he was to avoid, one he was to avoid without a doubt and the other one the resident whom it was only probably a good idea to avoid. With an uneasy look, he gave a frustrated sigh and hoped for the best.

He was going to be good. He was going to stay put and be good.

"Kenji! Help me! Kenjiiiii!"

His insides curdled and a sudden pang made his chest ache and brought back an old fear. He clenched his fists on the grass and remembered someone, or was it something? Was it just The Doctor of whom he was thinking? Hints of fear and pain were lurking in his mind and adding to his worry, but It was the resident legend of the labs and those who lived and worked in this particular building that had come back to him. Uriko was a rebellious character. What if the doctor was going to do _that_ to her?

The acolyte shook his head and tried to block out the screams until they faded away.

He was going to be good. He was going to stay put and be good.

"Uriko..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shenlong had the squirming subject in a tight grip, out of which she found a way to wriggle somehow. She struggled and screamed, but he managed to keep her in his grasp. He had her by her arms so she could face the doctor by the time Shenlong got to where he was.

"Is this the one?" he asked, holding her up.

The doctor wore a huge grin when he saw her. He held up his palms and approached her, which only made the situation worse.

"Eek! A pervert! Get away from me!"

"Now, little girl," he told her while placing one large hand on her arm, causing her to stiffen in repulsion, "This is all in the name of Science, so..."

"Huepa!" she roared to strengthen the leg that flew straight up to hit Busuzima in the chin. He flew back and Uriko continued to struggle. Her captor, still keeping his tight grip on her, commented with a small smirk, "That wasn't a bad kick for an experiment."

"Nobody appreciates my scientific genius," he sighed, rubbing his nose, "But can't you see.... Science is better than love will ever be. Falling in love is based on chaotic theory!"

He continued to explain, "Listen: through his experiments, Heisenberg concluded that the accurate measurement of one of two related observable quantities, such as position and momentum, produce uncertainties in the measurement of the other. He figured that the product of the uncertainties of position, and the uncertainties of momentum, equal to or greater than h over 2º, where h= planks constant. It means that observations in quantum mechanics always lead to uncertainty. You understand this, don't you?"

"No. Not at all (Isn't that, like, out of your field or something?)," the man grunted.

"I don't get it..." squeaked a confused Uriko.

Busuzima quickly proclaimed, "Exactly. So it's no use explaining what we'll be doing to you. So just keep quiet."

"No! I won't!" She squealed, but the doctor was ready with an injection of a sedative that stopped her stirring. The green haired man quickly carried her limp body to where they would be working.

The braided girl later lay strapped into a chair inside a small room with a rather large one-way mirror. She had been injected with a number of drugs and her arms and neck were hooked up to sources of other drugs yet to enter her body. A number of electrodes were attached to her forehead and her chest to monitor her. One of the various instruments attached to her looked somewhat like an electrode, save for a few details which were probably there to tell it apart from the others. She had been trying to panic and hyperventilate, but the sedative kept her body at a considerably calmer state.

"So what's all this about?" Shenlong yawned. 

The doctor chuckled. "You could say... I'm making a goddess."

Something, for once, had caught his interest and he voiced it in a brief questioning sound without opening his mouth.

"Ah, so now you're interested. I've been waiting for another one of her kind for so long... Let's hope I don't ruin my chance, like with-"

"Mmmm? Like with whom, grass man?"

He shook his head and went back to his work, "Just thinking out loud."

As Shenlong did not exactly give a damn about what the doctor did, he accepted that response and looked back through the barrier and mumbled, "Why couldn't you find a damn _woman_ and not some little kid?"

"What's that?"

He told him he was merely thinking aloud as well. After all, he would be far superior to her anyway, even if she did become some sort of "goddess," so she would still be of a caliber not high enough for him to bother with.

"Whatever. Starting procedure," Hajime sighed, making notes before moving his hands to the controls.

Inside the room, Uriko's mind became fogged when more drugs flowed into her bloodstream. Sweat poured from her face and her heart became excited despite the sedative and it began beat harder and more rapidly. The world turned blurry and started to move and her insides stirred uncomfortably.

She could barely even ask herself what was happening when her body started to shake and her muscles spasmed along with her gasping breaths. 

Then, Busuzima turned on the energy input, and a small flow of electricity was run through her to reach deeper inside her.

Uriko was scared beyond belief and the pulse was only becoming faster and faster, as if something was trying to burst out from within her...

As Shenlong watched, he could sense something oddly familiar about what was happening. Somewhere inside, he could almost feel a hint of fear pertaining to this event.

"Doc..." he asked to take the uneasiness off his mind, "What's with the enclosed room?"

"Containment," he quickly told him before turning up the input, making her condition speed up more.

As planned, the energy connected with something inside her core and fed it. It responded, and Uriko's thoughts faded away as a wave of energy rose up to the surface from the depths.

"Containment? For what?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Prince Cronos strolled through the hallways, on another one of his walks through the building of torture at which he resided. 

"Ho hum... How tragic it all is, really..." he sighed to the ceiling, "My only pleasure is making that man's life miserable with childish antics because I am unable to do anything else. I cannot kill him and he cannot kill me. If only there was a way out of this foul stalemate... one that favors my side, of course. Ah... Alas, it seems I am merely a puppet to do just what dear father does when he dies, and there seems to be no room for actual ruling myself in such a condition. Ah, and let us not forget my being an unofficial experiment. Knowing all this... Why do I even dream?"

He shook his head and went about his business, having spouted his bout of poetry for the afternoon. He delicately touched his fingertips to his forehead and turned around just in time to see a flash of purple light from the end of the hall, followed by a sound like that of shattering glass and a voice yelling, "She's lose!" There were the sounds of explosions and wreckage, and the cries of Busuzima mourning his equipment following. Then, what looked like a ghost sped up the hall in his direction. On closer inspection, it appeared to be a young lady dressed in the human test subject's garb and collar. The sprit-like appearance came not only from her fluttering gown but from the space between her feet and the floor. She hovered over the tiles, while the mere mortals far behind her had to run on their feet. Her eyes were wide open and contained an empty, almost possessed look. Shadows darkened her grim expression and invisible power flowed around her, keeping her dress and hair in constant midair motion. 

When she passed by the prince, her head snapped towards him and she extended one hand in his direction. Violet lightning burst from her fingertips and struck the Prince, lifting him into the air briefly. During those short moments, time stood still and everything either disappeared from view or simply did not matter anymore. All who existed were the two, connected by the attack. His heart recognized this energy somehow and when he looked upon his attacker, or at least tried to, he saw someone very different instead of that young girl. When he hit the ground, she continued fleeing and destroying. Cronos, panting, got himself into a sitting position and watched her as Hajime Busuzima and Shenlong arrived.

"Dear doctor," he cooed, still looking down the hall.

"You saw her?"

He faced him and completely tensed himself with an insane expression and his open hands' palms faced the ceiling, their fingers stiffened into positions as if they bore claws ready to attack.

_"WHAT_ THE _FUCK _WAS _THAT?!"_

"Erm, that would be my new goddess..." 

"And just _why_ the hell are we making attack goddesses?" 

"Just shut up and help me catch her. We have to get her before she transforms," Hajime ordered before continuing to run after her. The Prince decided to follow, not just out of morbid curiosity, but because of those few seconds of being caught in her attack.

_Who was that girl? What was that feeling I felt just then?_

The experiment was headed for a room with only one way in or out. When she cast her eyes on the equipment that filled it, she immediately set about destroying it with the light from her hands. The three chasing her hid behind a desk and watched her ruin Busuzima's tools.

"So how the hell are we supposed to stop a rampaging power-happy goddess?" Cronos whispered.

__

"Actually," the doctor informed him, "That state is very dangerous and wild, but incredibly easy to control."

"Is it?"

He nodded and explained with a proud smile, "With the right restraints, which I created, you can control them completely without any problems at all!"

"And why don't we have those restraints?" the dark-haired man asked in a voice that sounded as bored as one could allow given the situation.

"We do! I have them right here!"

Busuzima seemed to pull a set of shackles connected to thick chains from out of nowhere. They looked like an unusually Medieval way of restraining someone of such power, but the thick clamps bore little screens and monitoring devices. Shenlong and Cronos looked at the chains in his hands and then glared at Busuzima for a few seconds. The turned around and Cronos said dully, "You are..."

Shenlong continued, "...Really stupid..."

"...Aren't you?" Cronos finished.

"I-I forgot, okay?" he stammered. Just then, the purple lightning struck the desk and revealed their position. "Heads up!" the prince yelped. The three dove in opposite directions to avoid another onslaught of her powers.

"You're just stuck on energy attacks, aren't you," Shenlong growled, "Two can play at that game!" "Here's how you use an energy attack!" he yelled before concentrating sanguine energy in his palms. He quickly ducked under a lightning enhanced kick and came up, thrusting his palms at her torso. The ki sphere expanded a moment against her and then burst, sending her flying back, where the prince was waiting, one bronze arm extended to catch her by the waist.

"Pardon me," he politely requested, leaning the girl back. He brought his left hand over her heart and a ball of gold light formed in his palm and spread up his arm as the same yellow light surrounded her body and went into his hand. The pull of her energy being torn from her drew her upwards while Cronos extended his other arm behind him. He brought his right arm back to catch her when he had his fill of her powers. He kneeled, cradling her and lightly placing his left hand on her chest. Her eyes fluttered open and a panicked teenager glanced around and then up at the prince smiling at her. She desperately thrust her hand on front of his face, and he could have sworn he saw a small puff of smoke come from her fingers.

"Don't tell me you just..." Busuzima stammered.

Cronos lightly held her extended hand and put it down ever so gently. "You must be tired after your journey from the heavens," he purred with a warm smile and glittering emerald eyes. The fallen angel desperately looked at her hands and then tried to bring out power she now knew she was inside her, summoning a bright flash of light.

The doctor dove behind wreckage screaming, "She's transforming!" Shenlong braced himself against whatever would follow the bright flash of light. When he was able to look, he made a face and yelled, "Is _this _what you were freaking out over?" In Cronos' arms was the maiden, still about the same size as before. Now, striped orange fur covered her skin and her warm brown eyes had turned a bright green, which surrounded long slits for pupils. Her hands and feet were now large round paws and pointed ears poked up from her hair while a furry tail peeked out from the bottom of her gown. "She isn't even completely transformed," he complained. 

The feline teenager made a confused, "Nyaaaaa?!" while Cronos let out a small chuckle. She saw her retractable claws come out of her paws and she sat up to attack while letting out a fierce hiss. The Prince held up his left arm just in time to take the repeated blows for his face. When she was done filling his arm with oozing red lines, she pounced on his head and leapt off it, sending the silver haired prince to the floor while she went up to a large ventilation shaft that hung from the ceiling. Meowing, she ran along it on all fours and made a break for it above their heads, leaving a very upset Busuzima.

"No! Nonononono! You ruined it! You ruined it! Such an easy code! I thought I'd never find another one and you ruined it!"

"Ouch ouch ouch ouch..." Cronos chanted while clutching his arm and then complained, "Well, how was I supposed to know anything about this 'goddess' business? I was just stopping her before she killed us all!"

"She's no good anymore!" he continued to rant without thinking of what those listening to him would figure out from what he was saying, "That kind is easy to activate but you only get one chance and now she's a wimpy not-even-proper zoanthrope!"

Shenlong grunted, "This is what you wasted your time over? You wrecked the place just to make a wimpy half-beast?"

"A 'half-beast?'" the prince echoed.

"Didn't you see her? Her transformation was too human to be a proper zoanthrope."

_Her chance at being a 'goddess' was ruined and now her transformation into a beast person is too much in one direction... Interesting. _

What? What's this?

Cronos felt his heart beating and the flames rising around him. His body surged with the power he had stolen from her. He cringed and tried to hold it in and shove the fire into a small ball and the reaction disappeared, to his relief.

_I'm reacting to her energy. How are we connected to each other? I wonder..._

He hissed in pain and left to his quarters, pondering these events and that girl. He pushed open the door to his luxurious area of the building and called out to his bodyguard, "Ganesha! Get the peroxide; I think I'm in love!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey Busu-freak," the scarred man snarled through the food in his mouth.

"What is it," sighed a broken-hearted scientist.

"These waffles suck."

"That's great."

"No," He stated with wide-eyed commanding expression as a wall of flame shot up behind him, "I don't think you understand. These waffles suck. They suck _ass."_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the middle of the night when the lights were out, a lone figure crept into the labs, holding a ladder. He nervously glanced around, and then swallowed a breath and decided to keep going. It was bad luck to say _he_ did not exist, but then again... It had been so many years since anything had happened, so perhaps it was safe go around in the dark like this.

_What about that freak explosion last month? _

There was always something that kept the stories alive when people began to doubt. Even now, after all these years, people rarely stepped foot in the labs in the dead of the night when the lights were out. Even Busuzima, though he denied it, was a believer.

He passed by a bottle left on the corner of the said doctor's desk and almost chuckled at how the he as well still believed after all these years.

Was he one of them? Of course he was! He, of all people, should have been a believer.

_That's right. It was not long after I first met him... and it was just before we found Bitey._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The small flashlight's beam pierced through the dark as the young boy clad in fine pajamas and fuzzy slippers tiptoed around the place well after bedtime. His nanny never let him go very far into the labs, especially after what had happened only about a few months before. Nobody wanted to disobey the doctor after hearing the rumors that had spread. It had taken a while and a few damages and deaths, but the rumors had expanded to something of a ghost story.

All of the victims were wandering around at night. They were found the next day, completely void of blood. Notes were left, which the doctor immediately snatched up and showed nobody. The scientists started coming up with "rules" of what would please this resident ghost, and the doctor found himself obeying these rules as well. One of these was not going around in the dark at night.

A sudden noise brought him to spin around only to point the light at no moving thing.

_It's nothing. There's nothing here. But what's that high pitched noise?_

He gathered up his courage and ventured forth towards the sound. On the steps of the entrance to where the ninja resided, a furry creature about his height was curled up. It seemed to be half-asleep, and its shoulders shook every now and then as it let out another set of quiet squeaking.

When the boy stepped closer, he could see a little tail lying flat on the floor through the fabric of the experiments' gown he was wearing.

"Oi!" he yelled, slamming his foot down on the barely visible tail. The creature immediately up with a loud squeak. It turned around and saw him and transformed into a human boy, one a few years younger than the other.

"Prince Cronos!" He yelped before giving a quick bow.

"Ryu!"

"You shouldn't be out here," the younger boy whispered, "It's almost midnight."

"Well, you're out, aren't you?" the young Cronos reasoned. The younger boy looked to one side, ashamed, and barely uttered, "I don't want to talk about that."

A twinge of guilt passed through the older child when the ex-heir said this and he tried to not make it obvious that he was at fault in a way.

Ryu, the Young Dragon, was a very quiet child who bore an almost sad expression. He was the heir to the Clan of the Soil, whom Cronos had first encountered not long after he arrived from his homeland. He was polite and he often only spoke when spoken to. He now stood as if he were already dead, with his eyelids half-lowered and with his arms dangling lifelessly from his shoulders.

"Well, I'm not afraid! Do you believe what they say? You know it's just to keep people from snooping around!"

Ryu slowly shook his head and said quietly, "No. Doctor let the word of what happened go around to do that. But... he did not think this would happen."

The prince laughed, "You're acting like you've seen him!"

Just as dully, the ghostly child told him, "I have." The prince immediately stopped laughing and stared at him. 

"Eh?"

"I've seen him," he uttered, still as lifeless as before, "We've all seen him."

"You're not"

He slowly brought one hand up to his collar and lightly held it in his fingers. "One of us... He might want you. You should leave." His eyes and face looked so empty and his high voice uncomfortably tickled the soul when it daintily played with the words coming from him.

Cronos stepped back and audibly shuddered. That kid could be so damn... _creepy_ sometimes! He was so strange, especially since after...

"What, you mean" Cronos looked around, "Stephen Goldberg?

The child gently put one hand up to the elder's mouth and warned, "You shouldn't say that name."

"Well anyway I'm looking for something," the Prince half-lied, "And it's really, really important."

The heir was visibly saddened by the reminder of the cause of his own misery. Cronos gulped with another zap from his conscience and told him to come with him. As he was royalty, Ryu, of course, obeyed. The two set off in the dark, the dark-skinned child leading the way with his flashlight.

"So Is it true what they say? Did they really make him into a monster?"

"We shouldn't talk about that out loud," was the response. 

"Oh, come on! What ha-"

A loud crash, followed by the splash of a large amount of water, interrupted him. "What was that?!" The two immediately clutched each other and faced from where the noise seemed to come. After a few seconds of fear and mostly silence save for the slight sounds of movement, the royal child regained his dignity and pushed himself away from the ninja and regained his posture.

"Let's see what it is!" he dared himself and his companion and charged onward.

"You shouldn't," the Young Dragon pleaded, following him, "You didn't hear anything! It's your imagination, prince!"

"What are you saying," he joked. He ran until his foot made a large splash in a far-reaching puddle. His arm jerked when his foot became soaked all of a sudden, and the yellow spotlight briefly flashed over a very strange sight. What was it? He could only make out very strange looking discolored arms and legs, tattered clothes, bandages, and gleaming yellow eyes. He jumped with a squeal and aimed his flashlight back into the room, where there was now nobody.

"I saw him! I saw him!"

The ninja caught up with him. "You didn't! You didn't!"

"Are you nuts? It was-!"

Just then, he felt a presence behind him, like it was breathing down the back of his neck. The subtle disturbance of a few of the outmost hairs informed him of something sharp and grasping positioned over his head. Ryu seemed to feel the looming presence as well and his body tensed up and he obediently locked his gaze forward and refused to look behind him. Cronos now got the hint.

"Then again I think I was just seeing things."

"You probably were. The dark can make your imagination go wild."

The two, cringing, squeezed their eyes shut and stood still for what felt like hours. Finally, Cronos whispered, "Is he gone yet?"

"I think so."

The both let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. The Young Dragon made motions to turn around, but the prince, intrigued by the noise and the water on the floor, told him their exploration was not over yet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

__

And it seems to be either the fear of sharing that man's fate or sharing the fate of his victims that fills us all 

He spotted the round form on top of an air shaft and set up the ladder. He quietly tiptoed up the steps. There she was, curled up like the cat she had become.

"Pussy," He beckoned, making a little motion with his fingers, "Here, puss puss puss"

She was asleep, it seemed. He stepped down to move the ladder closer to her and then climbed back up so he could gently take her down. The prince gathered her up in his arms and carried her back to where he resided. The way she was curled up in his arms was so cute to him. The way her paws were daintily crossed over each other made him smile. He brushed back a lock of her brown hair and scratched her behind her large furry ear, bringing out a light purr as she unconsciously leaned into his hand.

_You're like me. Mysterious maiden, fate has brought us to cross paths. Our lives and destinies are intertwined._

And you're awfully, cute, too


	13. The Last Ogami

The Midnight Mole Chapter 13

Ah, Chapter 13! Lucky Chapter 13. 

How is it "lucky?"

Is it 'cause it's back to the length the earlier chapters were (about 8 pages)?

Nope! The reason is....

No Kenji! None at all (except for little bitty flashback Kenji)!

This chapter is mainly a "meanwhile" chapter, made of scenes I was trying to squeeze into chapter 12 and other "meanwhile" scenes. This fic does have other characters and happenings, ya know! 

Hmm... That four-letter word has shown up a few times, but a certain someone seems to LOVE using it. Do you think I should rate it R because of this?

Chapter 13: The Last Ogami

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The two children continued to venture forth in the dark, despite the Young Dragon's protesting. Cronos was still into exploring, even after having a near brush with certain death. He poked his flashlight into the room where they had seen Tylon's resident ghost and lay it on broken glass and more of the fluid that had spilled all over the floor. When the pointed the beam upwards, he saw a broken tank attached to what looked like some sort of computer below it.

"He was trying to destroy something," Ryu guessed.

"I've been in this room before," Cronos suddenly recalled, "And in this tank..."

A light whimper came from the corner of the room. They rushed over, careful not to step on broken glass, and found a shivering form huddled against the wall that shrunk back when Cronos pointed flashlight at it. It looked like a child about the Young Dragon's, perhaps a year or two younger. He was completely soaked and was not wearing anything, except for the yellow experiment's collar around his neck. 

"Were you in that tank over there?" Ryu asked him. He got no direct response except for some small panicked noises and confused, yet somewhat threatening looks.

"I could have sworn I saw a baby in that tank. How'd he get so big all of a sudden?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you leaving already, Mr. Ogami?"

"Yup, I'm pretty much all healed up," He told the nurse on duty. He pulled on his clothes from the few days before and packed up his things. On the way out he remembered a certain nurse. _I suppose it would be a good idea to see Alice before I go, _Yugo reasoned. He asked around and was led to a waiting room where he found her. During his stay, Alice had put up with his stubborn demands to be let go and hunt down that man he had seen before his accident. When he had simmered down after practically being strapped to his hospital bed, they had begun to talk of their current situations and their problems with the supposed "search" the police was doing (and what was the deal with Inspector Gado?).

She was sprawled out over a few seats, snoring loudly and drooling, to make matters more embarrassing. Yugo tried to hold in childish snickering and nudged her to summon her back to the waking world. With a yawn and low grumbling, she opened one eye to look at him. 

"Sleeping on the job, are we?"

Alice got up with a start and looked around, hoping nobody had seen her snoozing. "Don't tell anybody about this," she whispered, "If they find out I'm living at the hospital now..."

"You get kicked out or something?"

"Actually... Yeah... I didn't tell you about the fight Mom and I got into. She pretty much kicked me out, or at least she said something along those lines... And I can't go back after what I said." She had explained before that she had no real job; she spent most of her time volunteering for her education in nursing. 

Yugo made a small, "Hmm," thinking about this situation. He did owe her something. "I got an empty bed. You wanna stay at my house or something?" The woman quickly declined the offer and bid the boxer farewell when he told her he was leaving that night.

When Yugo stepped out of the hospital, he reminded himself, _She's right. It was probably just some hallucination. After all, I was half drunk! _He chuckled to himself, despite the sad feelings over the only thing close to a clue as to what happened to Kenji. He wondered where Kenji was now and hoped he was alright. Yugo had the hunch his little brother was not going to wander back home this time as he walked home in the dark night.

Poor Kenji... Poor little Kenji... Poor little defenseless Kenji... What if he was all alone and cold and hungry somewhere? What if he was in a dark, diseased alley, unable to move or call for help? What if he was being sold as a slave? What if he was locked with the spiders up in a dark dungeon, waiting for Yugo to rescue him after going through hordes of ninja and guards with gigantic guns, followed by the evil leader who wants to take over the world, who was waiting for Yugo to come in and take the bait - It was all a trap!

He shook his head and decided it was time to stop letting his imagination get the better of him. Making up stories about the worse case scenario was not going bring Kenji back. He knew very well there was the possibility he would never see him again. Yugo shut his eyes, wincing in pain after unknowingly delivering another blow to his heart. 

The boxer turned a corner and saw someone clearly despite the darkness.

"You."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

The maiden clutched at him desperately. "I was so scared!" she cried. He put one arm around her shoulders and wiped away a tear with one finger. She snuggled into his chest. "You needn't fear that diabolical fiend's terror any longer, my dear. You have seen such sadness, but weep no longer. I am your lover now.

Oh, Prince Cronos!" she cooed.

The silver haired prince sighed at his little fantasy with a slight giggle and dipped his favorite silver plated pen back into the inkwell. Putting it to the paper, he wrote:

She flew down to me in my dreams

She flew down to me in the day

Her voice touches my heart

And softens it, as I am reminded of that feeling

I thought not to exist

True Love

Like petals showering over me

Her beauty engulfs me

Her grace calls to me to join her in a heavenly waltz

Her name

"Oh dear," the prince voiced. What was her name? Perhaps there was a way to go around it without actually mentioning it. He put pen to paper again, but then the infernal sound of a kettle's whistle completely spoiled his thoughts.

"GANESHA!" he shrieked.

Ganesha, his bodyguard, could be heard taking the water off the stove and fumbling about in the kitchen, preparing the usual nightly cup of tea. His artistic mood already ruined, Cronos got out of his chair and continued to yell, "SOME of us are trying to fucking express our GOD DAMN FUCKING FEELINGS! How am I supposed to fucking write beautiful fucking love poetry if I can't keep my FUCKING CONCENTRATION?! Are you fucking listening to me?" 

A huge man, also dark skinned, with giant muscular arms and hands and feet and a corpulent body, entered the room with two gold rimmed teacups on saucers. He gently placed one on the desk and took the other with him to his favorite velvet cushion. Cronos snapped his angry glare towards the steaming cup and picked it up. He took a small sip from it and instantaneously returned to a calm state. "Thank you, Ganesha," he quietly said and returned to his seat.

His hand began to return to his pen, but Cronos decided to lean back in his chair and gaze up at nothing in particular and return to his high.

"I am in love, Ganesha. Just as my heart begins to turn cold and hopeless, she comes and gives me new meaning. Our meeting is fate, don't you agree, Ganesha?"

"Yes, Prince Cronos," his bodyguard muttered as he turned a page in the novel he was currently reading.

"We were meant to be. The way her spirit communicated with mine has told me so."

"Mm-Hmm" He voiced, trying to find where he left off on the page.

"Ah, to be young..." he sighed dreamily, "... To be young and in love..."

"That's nice..." Ganesha mumbled, now immersed in his reading.

The dreamy-eyed prince picked up his pen and went to put to paper once more. However, a huge drop of ink flew out of the tip and splattered on top of his writing. His eyes widened and he slammed his fist on the table in his sudden rage.

"Fucking HELL!"

He nearly burst into another round of spouting foul language, but then there was a slight shuffling noise in the next room followed by a light mewing noise. "Sweet Kitten!" he called lovingly, and ran to his room. On the center of his large bed, she was curled up, in the process of beginning to wake up. 

Clasping his hands together next to his face, the prince sighed, "She is so cute... Ooh, I can't resist!"

He swooped down and snatched her up in his arms and nuzzled the back of her neck purring, "Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!" This fully woke her up and she let out a loud hiss, her fur standing on end. He quickly stepped away (and narrowly missed her claws) with a guilty grin on his face. She frantically took in her surroundings and spun around and hissed at the strange room. 

"Do you like my room, Dear Kitten? You no longer have to suffer the torment of the Tylon laboratory."

His "Kitten" shot out at him and began to unleash her rapid punch combination on him. He took one paw and dipped her, as if he had accepted an invitation to dance. 

"Using my influence, I have freed you from that nightmare. Our so-called 'doctor' was ready to throw you away, he was so disgusted, so I acted just in the nick of time."

When the cat girl struggled, he used the force she was exerting to spin her around back into his arms so their hands were clasped for the Tango.

"A brighter future is now ahead of you. You may reside in Ganesha's room, which he has not used for a few years for an unexplained reason."

He spun her once again so they were both standing apart and leaning away from each other, still linked by the hands. 

"And those clothes simply will not do!"

He finally let her go and she fell back on her rear from trying to get away from him when he had her by her paw. The Prince walked around her, muttering to himself, "Hmm... The color of your hair... That lean figure... Those cute little motions... And was that Kenpo I saw? I'm going to be busy tonight!"

He leaned over to her snarling face and cooed, "But I suppose you are hungry after all of this, are you not?" His maiden started to hiss yet again, but a well-timed audible gurgling noise from her stomach brought an embarrassed look to her face. She looked down to her stomach and placed one paw over it, remembering she had barely eaten anything in the past few days. Her host laughed and told Ganesha to bring her to the table and get her something good to eat while he made some overnight mail orders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't believe it," the slouched man complained, "Why would he need his stupid hair oil in the middle of the damn night?" The man at the counter looked at the scientist strangely, as he was hardly the type who would buy such a product. This "Essence of Lavender and Manliness," or whatever it was called, was a rather costly oil, with which Shenlong slicked back his hair, that could only be bought at very few stores. Busuzima wondered if there were more people like himself forced to go out at ungodly hours for this stuff who made up the main customers for a store open at this time of night. He opened the bottle to take a whiff once he stepped outside and immediately drew his nose away from the neck of the bottle. Hardly a second later he twisted the cap back on. It was definitely an acquired taste.

"You," A voice from behind him growled. The scientist turned around and saw a tall, muscular man glaring at him in the dark, his yellow eyes glowing with what little light shone from the street lights reflecting in those bright golden discs.

"You took him..."

Hajime looked at him lazily and explained, "I take a lot of people. I guess this means you have to die... or let me take you, too, if you prove to be useful to me."

"You took him," he growled once more. His mind only knew rage and was merely waiting for the slightest disturbance for what little control was left to break. He had now become aware of just how sharp his pathetic human canines were and he recognized the urge to sink them into something, or someone and never let go. His anger brought forth a low rumbling noise from the back of his throat. This was indeed the man from before! Kenji was somewhere alone and frightened, crying for him, because of this man! He had taken away his family, his_ pac_k.

"I smell... a canine. Now then, are you going to lie down and die like a good dog?"

"Not until I taste your blood!" he roared, soon afterwards losing the ability to speak. He lunged forward for the kill and allowed a new form to shape his body. Silvery gray fur covered his skin and his hands and, though they still bore grasping fingers, took on the characteristics of paws while his transformed feet slid out of his boots and hit the sidewalk, his claws making a clacking noise against the concrete. He bulked up considerably, causing his shirt to tear and his pants ripped in the back to make room for an impressively bushy tail. Fur hid his face, which bore a snarling muzzle. His pointed ears now stood atop his head.

"That wolf..." Busuzima breathed when he saw his transformed state, "You must be an Ogami, the last Ogami! Now, are you sure that was so smart- Hey!"

He leapt to one side to narrowly avoid being tackled by the enraged humanoid wolf, who caught himself on all fours and pounced back at him. This time, Busuzima was not quick enough. He yelped in pain when the wolf's jaws captured his arm. However, when Yugo's head whipped from side to side to mutilate his arm, he found he was now gripping tough, scaly flesh. All of the doctor's right arm was now much larger than the left one and covered in green scales.

"You're completely out of control! Is this your first transformation?" he asked, not expecting an answer, and raised his left arm. There was a small flash of light when he transformed it before bringing it down on top of the wolf's head. A small whimper was heard when the canine hit the ground, but soon after, he was back on his feet and ready for another chance to rip out his throat. 

Listening around and locking his ears on various murmurs and the sound of rapid footsteps and a young voice, Busuzima scolded, "Look what you did now! You're waking the whole town up!"

"Gotta run!" he hastily yelped and made a break for it. For such a badly postured individual, he certainly ran very quickly. As he expected, the wolf was on his tail. He led him into an alley and transformed to his zoanthrope form, but when the light dimmed, there was nothing to be seen. The grey beast snarled and quickly snapped his head around, looking for his prey. When he sniffed the air, he caught an unusual scent, but one that sufficed. His claws extended and his bloody teeth bared, he leapt up to seize his target. He ignored a seemingly insignificant little bite pricking his neck, but a few seconds later his movements were slowed and his eyes clouded with drowsiness.

"That will be enough of that," a familiar voice ordered. The wolf fell to the ground and reverted back to his previous self.

"..Ga...Gado..." He groaned before falling asleep.

The inspector kneeled on front of the sleeping man and plucked the dart from his neck when he saw all of its contents had entered him.

"He's with me," he told the darkness, "Do you think I would let the last Ogami go unprotected?"

The alley showed no response and he asked it, "So you're playing innocent as usual again?"

"Mister Ogami?" a young voice called, "Mister Ogami!"

Alice, who had run out of the Hospital to return something Yugo had left behind, had finally caught up with the man to find him passed out and in terrible shape. She kneeled beside him and immediately recognized he had been drugged.

The Inspector, with a flash of his badge, hastily explained he was trying to sedate his attacker, who promptly used him as a shield. "I've never heard of police doing that," she told him, not convinced. Gado quickly told her, "There are a lot of things you don't know, Mademoiselle. Speaking of such things... You haven't seen anything... out of the ordinary just now, have you?" 

She had seen nothing unusual, she told him between her grunting in trying to lift the boxer so she could put his tremendous weight over her shoulders. When the Inspector was denied his offer to help the nurse take him back to the hospital, he bade her farewell and stepped back into the darkness.

"No, I haven't seen anything unusual," Alice quietly whispered as she dragged the limp body, "Nothing at all... except for that_ werewolf!"_

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The silver haired young man leaned his elbows on the table and rested his head on his hands as he gazed at his princess lovingly. "Do you like your breakfast?" he cooed. Uriko, still in cat form, dropped her fork for the tenth time and gave him a sour look. She stubbornly tried to pick it up with her huge paw again when Cronos reminded her it would be easier to do that as a human. 

"Are you having trouble changing back? Is that it?" he then teased. Uriko flinched, as he had struck a nerve. 

"It's not that hard. You just relax and picture your human self and sigh the animal out of you. Go on, give it a try."

She glared at him once again and reluctantly closed her eyes, resisting the urge to keep one open to watch his movements, and let out a breath. She felt the energy rise up inside her rearrange her body, followed by sort of a calm afterwards. When Uriko opened her now brown eyes, she found the human body with which she was familiar.

"There you go! And just in time, too!"

Cronos reached under the table and retrieved a few flat parcels. He then continued, "The clothes I ordered came in a few hours ago. I figured you'd become a little slimmer when you transformed back (such is the case in spades for most zoanthropes) so I got them a size smaller. You should try one on just in case."

He handed her one of the brown packages and told her, "I got you one in green and a pretty red one, too."

~~~~~~~~~~~

He reluctantly slid from his deep slumber and turned on his side to try to go back. He was still drowsy from the tranquilizer. Yugo could have sworn he heard some talking pertaining to him, but he paid it no attention. The loud slamming of a door, however, woke him up completely. He shot up into a sitting position and yelped, "Gado!"

"Ogami."

"Eeehh? What am I doing in the hospital?" 

"You completely lost control and transformed for the first time," he told him bluntly.

"Transformed? Into what?"

The old inspector snorted, "What else? You're an Ogami! You worship the moon! You run with the wolves! Well, I'm not sure if you do, since you live in the city, but I'm sure you noticed your father suddenly going out into the wilderness for a night when he was still alive."

Yugo nodded and recalled enough to say, "Right... I was a wolf last night..."

"Your family has been one of wolves for generations. An Ogami wolf is very easy to point out as one of that bloodline. Many Ogamis have been recognized as heroes and near the present they fought for the rights of zoanthropes... I suppose I must explain that as well."

"A zoanthrope is a human who transforms into an animal. Kenji told me that."

Gado's eyes grew wide and he demanded, "What else did he tell you?"

"He refused to tell me anything, either... Well, he did once say something like, 'They took me back,' but he didn't tell me who or anything!"

"Nothing else?"

"His friend asked him if it was Tylon and that made him really quiet."

With an fed up sigh, he went back to his chair and moaned, "We know it's Tylon... And Tylon knows we're onto them. We're in a stalemate and we've been in one for years. You see, Tylon was the head of the ZLF some years back."

"Wait, you're talking about The Zoanthrope Liberation Front?"

"The very same. You, and most other people, thought of their existence as outrageous -There are no such things as "Zoanthropes"- but you were without a doubt aware of the terrorist activity going on. My department, along with certain others, managed to launch a secret raid on the ZLF stronghold, a small high-security building on the Tylon property. That resulted in the 'terrorist attack' that let a number of their experiments escape. Your little 'Kenji' wandered away from there to you that day. Zoanthropes have a way of finding each other, don't they?"

"What was Kenji doing there?!"

"We had heard rumors of inhumane experiments performed on zoanthropes and these proved to be true, but your Kenji was not one of them. Put two and two together, Ogami. That outfit of his bore similarities to that of a ninja; you went crazy on the nurses with your claim of seeing him fall from a building after a strange explosion and get picked up and shoved into a van..."

Yugo was now in disbelief. Angrily, he accused, "Are you trying to tell me Kenji's a terrorist?"

"I wouldn't say, 'terrorist.' He seems to be an assassin, one of the ninja working for Tylon."

"N-NINJA?! You're telling me Tylon's got NINJA?!"

"Don't act so surprised, Ogami. There are still ninja in the world, and the Clan of the Soil -that's what our sources say they are called- has been serving Tylon's head family for many generations."

"Let me guess: they all turn into moles."

With a mock-impressed voice, he complimented, "You're smarter than you look, Ogami."

"What's the advantage of turning into a little rodent that's, like, four inches long?"

"Four inches," Gado repeated and then asked, "Kenji only showed you that form, didn't he? The Clan of the Soil has the rare gift of being able to transform into the average mole as well as the typical zoanthrope mole, a foe to be reckoned with. They carry very few weapons, for those claws are all they need."

"This is getting stupider by the minute," Yugo complained, "You're saying Kenji is a ninja mole."

"That he is."

He then argued, "Kenji's a good kid! He'd never kill people! Okay, so he beat up some officers that one time, but otherwise he's harmless! He doesn't do anything bad. He's downright innocent. I mean, if he gets the drift he's done something wrong, he looks absolutely devastated. How can he be an assassin?"

Gado walked around Yugo's bed in a dignified manner and told him, "He obviously made you a very important figure. He probably adored you and held you in the highest respect, just as he would his master."

"What...? His master?"

"He feared disobeying you and thus what was right and wrong for you became right and wrong for him. He was a good child, and he made sure of it. As for his 'innocence,' I suppose he sometimes doesn't realize what he is doing. All he knows is to be good and follow what his master says, whether it be you or whoever gives the orders at Tylon."

"No!"

Yugo leapt out of bed and declared, "I refuse to believe it! Kenji's not a killer!" Continuing to yell at the inspector, he chased him out of the room and shut the door behind him. When it seemed he had left, he returned to his bed and leaned over it, clutching handfuls of the sheets.

"Kenji... What are they doing to you..."

"M-Mister Ogami?"

He hastily shoved in his torment and turned to the opened door to find a certain nurse.

"Alice!"

"Is that offer still available? The one to stay at your house, that is..."


	14. Setting the Stage

An uneventful chapter, really. Don't worry. Stuff's gonna start happening in chapter 15. I couldn't even think of a decent title except for one that explains what this chapter does.

Chapter 14: Setting the Stage

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The child shivered and growled, backing up against the wall. Cronos came in closer, while the Ryu went to a drawer to look for a towel.

The young prince looked at him nervously and reached out one hand, whispering, "Hello there..."

"Grrrrrrr..."

When he heard a scream, Ryu ran over with a towel in his arms. "Prince Cronos?!" 

"He bit me!" he cried. He held one hand with a bite mark close to him and he pointed at the child with the other. The boy, still growling, glared at him in a defensive position. 

"Why were you doing?"

"I was just trying to be friendly!" he yelled, "And for no good reason, this stupid little booger - Ouch! He bit me again!"

Ryu walked up to him and looked at him seriously, telling him he should not bite people. The child examined him, and then turned his head away, deciding he was not worth his time. The former Young Dragon decided to ignore this and he threw the towel over his head and dried him off. "There, now you're dry. Can you talk? What's your name?"

The child looked at him curiously.

Cronos told him he had an idea for a great name. "I know! We'll call him Bitey! Ouch! You little monster! Ouch! I knew it. You got those demon eyes. Ouch! See, Ryu? Bitey's a perfect name. Ouch ouch ouch!"

The two got into a wrestling match, with "Bitey" performing his namesake and Cronos trying to pull him off. The brown haired child weakly told them to stop, but they would not listen. He looked around and saw a plaque that had probably been on the tank. It had been broken in half, but there was something written underneath the fragmented identification number. He walked up to the two of them and showed them the plaque, asking, "Is this your name?"

The boy stopped attacking and took the plaque in his hands. He cocked his head, looking a it up close and far away, and carefully took in what was written on it. After a few minutes of turning it around in his hands, he stood up and hit Cronos over the head with it.

"I don't think he can read, Ryu!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The boxer unlocked the top and bottom locks and swung open the door to his humble abode. He motioned to the kitchen, in which they were standing, the shower in the corner of the kitchen, his room, and Kenji's room, where Alice would be staying. She chuckled at how neat and quaint the child's room was compared to the rest of the house that bore the messiness of the typical bachelor pad. She was glad to be sleeping in a room that actually looked sanitary. Yugo stuck his head in the mess that was the interior of the refrigerator and wondered what he could make for something that could pass for a meal. After all, he had company, female company.

"Now, I'm not really the best cook, you know," he told her while refrigerating his head, "Kenji was pretty good, though."

She approached from behind to see what Yugo had in his stores. "You made your brother cook?" she asked in a disapproving tone.

"No, but he read my cookbook a lot and he started making stuff all of a sudden. I'd let him cook every once in a while 'cause he could do that really good. I mean, just give the little guy a recipie and..."

"...And what?"

Yugo's tone suddenly became somewhat sad and he continued, "...He'd follow it exactly..." 

Alice shrugged and peered inside the refrigerator. She looked through the containers of ancient food and leftovers and asked, "Where are the vegetables?"

"Vegetables? I think I have some corn in the freezer."

The nurse wrinkled her nose. "Frozen corn?"

"Well... Yeah."

"And look at what's here! You have some awful eating habits. It's a good thing I came along when I did!"

The man, somewhat insulted, gave her an odd look and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Yugo Ogami, we're going shopping."

"What?! Sh-shopping?"

"That's right," she told him, "You've been in the hospital for a while. Some things might have turned in that time. Besides, I'm a nurse. I know what's best for you."

"Uhh... I guess so..." Yugo grunted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Fox, pleased with himself, strolled towards the table to partake in yet another daily habit pertaining to his perfect looks.

"Beauty is as Beauty does. Constant vigilance is needed to keep my natural beauty at its highest possible level."

He glanced at a reflective surface and whispered, "And I think I've been putting on a few pounds lately..." then he continued in his usual voice, "And now, to sit down to my fat-melting lunch of..."

His pretty gaze transformed into an annoyed glare when he saw an essential element missing from his meal.

~~~~

"Nyow? Niyaaaa...."

The prince opened the door to his room when he heard the mewing and paws of his one and only. "Kitten, how wonderful you are so eager to see me!" he cooed. 

"Nyu?" The half beast was seated on the floor, looking up at him. She moved her head upward a little to show him the flat cylindrical object in her mouth. The young man extended his hand to retrieve the item.

"Tuna? Oh, you want me to open it?"

"Nya!" The cat girl mewed excitedly. 

"Anything for you, my dear Kitten," he sighed, patting her on the head. On all fours, she ran circles around him, making more cute cat noises.

Cronos happily pulled back a chair for his kitten, setting down the can on front of her. He told her he could order fine fresh tuna from the cleanest waters just for her, but she impatiently shoved the can in his face. He chuckled and opened it, neatly placing its contents on a small gold rimmed plate. She let out another loud "Nyaaa!" and immediately set upon devouring the canned fish. His emerald eyes gazed at her dreamily before he got up to answer a very angry knocking on his door. While he was going to get it, Ganesha entered the room, giving the girl a strange look, as she was seated like a human at the table, yet at the same time gobbling up her food the way a cat would.

"Can I help you?" Cronos asked upon opening the door.

"You took it," growled the feminine man on the other side. He was dressed in his usual ensemble: short denim shorts, purple guards above his black boots that did not fail to still show off the curves of his legs, long hot pink finger less gloves that nearly spanned his whole arms, and a skimpy pink top composed of straps that held his pectoral muscles like a woman's breasts. The prince jumped back with a sickened face.

"Eeew! Oh, it's just you, Fox."

"Where's my tuna? I know you took it, you snot nosed brat."

Cronos stepped outside his quarters, shutting the door. "Look," he told him, "I don't know where your damn tuna is."

Fox then grabbed him and shoved him up against the wall. 

"'Fess up. I know you took it, chicken-wuss."

Cronos narrowed his eyes angrily and sternly took Fox's hands off him. "Now listen here," he ordered, "I ain't no chicken and I ain't no wuss, femmy boy."

"Oooh, you're askin' for it..."

The door opened and Ganesha approached the blond man, placed a tuna can in his hand, and left. Fox puckered his lips and moved the tightness to one side of his face, almost disappointed, looking at the can. Cronos turned around and went back to the door to his quarters.

"Wait a minute. CRONOS!"

"Yes?" Cronos dipped down in turning around, unknowingly dodging the flying can aimed for his head. However, when he stood back up in facing him, the can, having ricocheted off the door, forcefully met the back of his head.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"This tuna," the blonde growled, "isn't dolphin safe."

He held the can in his bronze fingers and said, "Now let me get this straight: You're the assassin who revels in blood and the shrieks of brutal agony of his victims before they finally die..."

"Well, I don't like to brag..."

"...So why do you give a fuck about the damn dolphins?!"

"That's nonna yer goddamned business!"

The two moved in for the attack, but Cronos lightened up when the door opened and a questioning "Nyu?" was heard. 

"Kitten... Perhaps it would be best if you took a walk..." Cronos told her, not taking his eye off Fox. He motioned with his head to his opponent that they were going to take this argument elsewhere. They walked off and his kitten eagerly ran out down another hall on all fours. 

Transformed to a human form, Uriko carefully crept through the halls until she reached an overpass of cold, blue metal over the main area through which that strange scarred man had dragged her. The room below was sort of a crossroads, in a way. There was a lot of open space, and a number of computers, devices and shelves lined the walls. There was a creepy-looking table that bore straps, one of many she had seen in her wanderings, and a messy desk sat against one of the walls. 

A light tapping echoed from behind her and then under her and she leaned over the railing to see a figure in yellow walk through the room. Leaning over even more and squinting, she wondered if this was a certain ninja she had not seen in a while. Suddenly, his head snapped in her direction. She jumped back, surprised, then leaned over the railing to see him again. The room was empty once more.

"Uriko?"

She only let out a short shriek when she turned around to find him standing directly behind her. "K-K-K-Kenji!" she exclaimed. The boy's eyes had changed somewhat from when she had last seen him. 

"Uriko... Is something wrong with my face?" 

"Ah... Nothing," she stuttered before turning her head away. Though he still more a certain "look" she had from right after his brainwashing, something was ever so slightly different in his eyes. 

"This outfit," he whispered awkwardly while pinching a little of the sleeve, "... looks..."

"Oh, this?"

She opened her arms and looked back down at the flashy gi-style outfit she was wearing. The top bore a gold trimmed bright blue vest with tassels hanging down from it and a gold Niku House logo over the left breast. Underneath it was a clear white top with overly long sleeves that became very wide at the ends, covering her hands with a blue and gold border adorned with paw prints. Both the shirt and the vest were open in the back, baring her skin. Her top extended into a long cloth in front that hung down on front of her legs, which bore blue shorts that tightly hugged her figure. The gold and blue scheme was even reflected in her sneakers, sporting more paw prints on their tongues.

She smiled slightly and explained, "Yeah, he gave it to me."

"'He?'"

"Some guy," Uriko told him with the wave of a hand, "He's letting me live in his quarters and he buys me all this stuff. Forgot his name, though... Oh!"

"What's wrong"

She eagerly placed her hands on his shoulders, "He's got a lot of influence. I wonder if he could get me out of here. If so... What if he can get you out of here, too?"

The Young Dragon cocked his head and looked confused. "Me? Leave? I can't do that. Almost nobody leaves this place."

"Really?"

"Even those who can don't leave permanently. They always come back."

She looked downcast and then tried to lighten up, suggesting, "Still, if I can work the old Uriko charm, who knows what I can get out of him? He's got this big crush on me, and melts like butter when I do my cute act. It's kind of funny, to tell the truth. So don't lose hope."

Kenji turned around, downcast, and gazed onto the room below them. "I don't want you to leave," he told her, "You... really made things different. I didn't like it these past few days you were gone."

She explained this person did not want her wandering around the dangerous labs too much because of the doctor. She still told him she could get him out of Tylon and they could leave together.

"What are you saying?" Kenji still kept his quiet voice, but an almost choked sound was creeping into it. "What about my duty?"

Uriko let him have it then. He said he did not like killing, so why did he want to continue doing that? Besides, he was not that reluctant to quit his job when she knew him. In fact, he was scared to death of going back! Would he not prefer to live a normal life with his big brother?

"This is my home, Uriko. This is where I belong."

With an angry stomp on the cold metal she yelled, "You don't belong here! You belong with someone who loves you!"

Her words brought him to look at her desperately. Uriko looked back nervously and took a small step back. "Kenji..." she squeaked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Uriko... Uriko, I..."

He glanced to one side at the large clock that hung where all could see.

"I have to go."

He began to walk away, but Uriko ran up and rested her hand on his shoulder, tell him, "Perhaps we can spar again sometime in the future?"

He responded with a simple positive sound and a nod of his head, relieved his attempt at hypnosis seemed to have had some effect despite the sleeping drug she was on at the time. 

He then wore a slight smile and faced her fully. With a graceful wave of his fingers, he disappeared from her view in a shower of lively green leaves and a flash of an illusionary log. The youth blinked at his flashy vanishing act, probably something only good for showing off.

__

What's with that guy... 

She put her palms her face.

__

And why am I blushing like this?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"HAJIME!" The rich voice of a scarred man ordered.

"What is it now?" Busuzima groaned.

"Where the hell are my pants?"

"Eh? What do mean- NYARGH!"

The scientist had turned around to see Shenlong standing there naked, holding his shirt over one shoulder. "Shenlong, why aren't you wearing anything?"

"Do not address me so curtly! I am the mighty Shenlong!"

"I can see that..."

"Now get me my pants!"

"Yeah, yeah yeah... In the meantime," he suggested with a nervous hand motion, "Can't you put on some underwear?"

With his hands on his hips he proclaimed, "Shenlong has no need for undergarments."

"Then... Stand behind something before someone sees you," he sighed before leaving the room.

"Shenlong does not sink to the low of hiding. Let them look, I say! Let them gaze upon perfection!" he continued to proclaim, despite the fact Busuzima had left at that point.

"Nyo?"

Shenlong cast his bored gaze over to where a wide-eyed Uriko was standing. "What are you staring at?" he rudely asked. The girl stared a little more and then shook her head and snapped back to reality. "Er, nothing!" she quickly told him, now looking upwards to his face. She continued to look at him and he glared angrily back at her. _"Now _what are you staring at?"

The braided girl furrowed her eyebrows and looked at his face curiously.

"You look like..."

"Shenlong, your pants!" a voice called in an overly loud voice. Shenlong turned to find his favorite deep blue pants tossed into his face. He violently pulled the garment off his face and gave the green haired man another piece of his mind before putting it on.

"Anyway, you were saying..." he lazily requested after donning his pants. He took the maroon shirt off his shoulders so he could wear it as well.

"You look like..."

The so-called doctor interrupted yet again while lightly pushing her away, "Oh my! Look at the time! You really should get going now-"

"Eeeek! You're that pervert!" She shrieked before proceeding to repeatedly bat him over the head, "Getoffgetoffgetoffgetoffgetoff!" The bored Shenlong slammed his fist into Busuzima's face. Uriko blinked nervously watching him fall to the floor. He looked at her seriously while tugging on the sides of his open shirt before slipping his hands into his pocket. He made a slight coughing noise in his throat to tell her to continue.

"Well... Now you look like a pimp."

"...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the garden, the heir to the Clan of the Soil looked up towards the glass ceiling, squinting against the artificial sunlight coming from behind it. He lay on the grass with his head near the areas of loose soil that held the flowerbeds. He breathed in the comforting smell of the soil and pondered the absences. He had only encountered Uriko once. She was barely around anymore. He would have asked the Prince Cronos for advice, but he was nowhere to be seen lately, either. He only interacted with his clan on missions. They rarely sought him out and he barely knew the members himself. Besides, they were all much older than him and at a lower rank. He was special. He was the heir, after all. He was the future Bakuryu.

"Master..." he whispered to the air.

Those people were fickle. The only person on whom he could count was his master, who would someday leave him in death.

__

Fool, his soul told him, _Quit being that immature child and grow up. Let your eyes be further dragged down by the weight of the knowledge of your actions and allow yourself to go back up to par once more._

That is what Master wants. But then I become brainwashed once more because I revert back and become worse. I don't want to forget her.

This time, use your true self to do what is best for you.

I can't do that, the child argued.

__

Are you still trying to get some sort of affection? 

....

You still remain a child, and he still rests. I warn you: You have conceived a bastard child. If I could fear, I would fear for what happens should you be betrayed. We're messed up, all of us. You cannot deny this, even with amnesia. After all, you are talking to yourself, no?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What is it with these stupid crunchy vegetables?" Yugo yelled over the dinner table. Alice glared upwards with one angry eyes. "I. Like. Crunchy vegetables. Besides, eating a salad with every dinner-"

"Salad!" Yugo grunted, slamming the table with one hand, "Why are you making me eat this... this... this rabbit food?"

"For your information, Ogami, that 'rabbit food' is good for you."

The boxer leaned over the table and mumbled nasty comments about just what she could do with her healthy food.

He glared at her with squinty eyes and asked, "Are you trying to make me a vegan or something?"

"Actually..."

"Argh!"

Keeping her dignity, the pigtailed woman stood up and checked the oven. "You said you liked having someone cook for you, didn't you? And you said you like my cooking, didn't you?"

He looked at the floor, which was now deemed "sanitary" by the nurse's standards. She was not a bad roommate, as she kept up her end of the deal, but she could be rather annoying sometimes. Just so long as she did not mess up anything in Kenji's room, he would not kick her out.

He then reminded himself that just last week, she was messing around with Loopy, getting a stain off his ear. His ancient fur looked so matted an weird after that! She did not even ask; she just took him! Loopy survived that traumatic event, thankfully, but if she were to "improve" his gift from his late father for the worse... She would pay dearly. Then again, she did give him a nice spot on the shelf overlooking Kenji's room, so at least she was paying him his deserved respect.

Yugo decided to lighten up and he sniffed the air hungrily. "Somethin' smells good!" he exclaimed. 

"I made quiche. We can refrigerate the rest and eat it on different nights."

"Like all the other stuff you make?"

"I'm a busy person," she told him while cutting slices for the two of them. Yugo licked his lips, despite the fact the dish was swirled with green and shoved forkfuls of it into his mouth hardly a second after he got his serving. "Alice, this is great," he tried to say through the partially chewed food, "What's in it?"

His face fell when she started listing, "Tofu, soy sauce, lots of spinach..." and he dully gulped it down with a sour expression. His next bites were not so excited after this. Alice herself was rather pleased with what she had created. She stopped eating to ask him whether they could go stargazing someday.

Yugo's face lit up. "You like the night sky?"

"So you'd like to-"

"The eighth! Let's go the eighth!"

Alice was taken aback. Not only did he agree on her planned date, but he eagerly suggested it. It was risky, but she wanted to find out his secret. The night they picked was a night of a full moon.


	15. The Full Moon Transformation

Chapter 15: The Full Moon Transformation

*~*~*~*~*~

The young prince snatched the broken plaque from the hands of, as far as he was concerned, the little demon child.

"Are you sure this is his name, Ryu?" he asked, looking at the single syllable there, "This thing looks like it's broken in half."

"He seems to like it better than the name you gave him..."

In a mock-defensive voice, he protested, "Hey, Bitey's a great name-ouch!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~

The boxer walked down the street uneasily and looked behind him once again. He was having yet another one of those days when paranoia got the better of him, he supposed. Then again...

He spun around on a dime without warning and, surely enough, a pigtailed head was seen in the crowd. "I knew it," he grumbled to himself. Only one person he knew had those purple bunny ears. _I had a feeling she was following me, _Yugo thought. He decided to play innocent and went about his business. It was private, though, and he told her just that. What, did she think he was some sort of serial murderer?

His destination was a pharmacy, one that was just across the street from one of a different chain. There was a difference between the two chains other than the names, but Yugo had long forgotten what that might have been. Alice crept through the class doors after him and hid in an aisle, peeking out to see what his "secret" business was. It appeared to be photographs. She could see her roommate opening the envelope to take a quick glance at its contents, and then shutting his eyes and grimacing before closing the envelope. He paid the woman at the film development counter and, having completed his business there, walked to the door. When he was halfway there, however, he stopped and bid farewell to Alice. The woman came running out of the pharmacy, yelling, "Yugo, what are you doing here?"

"You're following me, aren't you?"

"What? No, of course not!"

Yugo narrowed his eyes and shot her a glare that told her she was not fooling him. Alice, keeping up an innocent act, asked him what he bought. Yugo switched the bag the hand that was further away from her, partially turned away and said, "It's... private... Guy stuff, you know?"

Alice smiled. _We're not fooling each other, are we? It doesn't matter. I'm going to reveal you, werewolf._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're wandering again?" Cronos asked his Kitten, "But the labs are not a pleasant place to wander."

"I feel trapped," Uriko told him in an uneasy voice, "Your place is really nice, but I'm still a prisoner here. Besides... I haven't seen someone in a while."

"Hmm... A friend of yours?"

Uriko, seated on one end of a plush red and gold loveseat, l sighed and hugged a fancy cushion while Cronos casually sat on the other side, his arm lying along the back of the small couch.

"Yeah, I knew him before that experiment. Ever since you took me in, I can't see him often, so he doesn't play with me anymore."

Uriko nuzzled into the pillow. 

__

Why do I miss him like this?

"'Him?'"

_"Play?"_

This was not good. She was thinking about other young men. Then again...

He saw the way she caressed that object. Of course, such actions are done in loneliness of fantasizing as well. She had no apparent claims, and she let him scratch her belly, so the only thing he figured he needed to do was make sure he acted early enough. Then, she would be his, as destiny planned, and this other male, whoever he was, would only be a friend... if he survived living in Tylon Labs.

"Well, dearest... I do recall hearing of a carnival and circus on the eve of the eighth... Would you perhaps like stepping out of this old building for a night?"

"You can do that?" she asked in amazement. The very concept of the possibility of leaving presented to her just like that was almost a shock.

"Why certainly, Kitten," he cheerfully told her, "I can arrange such things. After all, I am a prince. So... this will be our first date, will it not?"

_....._

A.... A "Date?!"

She squeezed the pillow nervously and mumbled, "Er... I suppose so..."

"How special! I must get you something casual to wear, then."

He happily stood up and went to do what he had just announced. Uriko remained in her seat and began to get nervous. She knew this was how to play him to hopefully free herself, but the greatest pang of guilt was nagging at her. It was logical and it was her best situation so far in this place. Being with this rich prince gave her a warm bed, clothes, protection, and good food without any ninja giving her strange looks. The downside was that prince was starting to get more and more familiar with her, and she wondered how far he would go in his affection.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shenlong sat lazily at the bar and, between puffs of his cigarette, sipped a yellow tinted drink that would cause most respectable people to pass out from a tiny glass. Other assassins were also there, getting their buzz after a day's work, or after doing absolutely nothing. Cronos was next to him with a beer in hand. Standing behind them was a downcast Young Dragon. The prince invited him to sit next to him and partake in the bounty available for the tenants of this building. The Young Dragon finally gave in and sat down next him.

"See, Ryu? It ain't so bad, back with you're old buddies. Now... What do you like?"

"I think I've had alcohol before..." he whispered in his usual quiet voice, now more reserved with sadness, "It's bitter, isn't it? I don't think I like it."

"Then have some peanuts or something, Ryu," Cronos laughed, "I don't know. Maybe you'd like something fine..." He paused and then continued with a silly imitation of a well mannered and sophisticated voice, "like sweet plum wine. What do you think, Shen?"

The most aged of the three slammed down his shot glass and yelled, "Why do you two insist on calling me that? There's another half to my name."

The prince just went back to his beer. "You're no fun. You don't remember the times we shared those years back. Wasn't that somethin' Ryu?"

"..."

"That's right. You don't remember anything, either."

He then called the bartender to bring the Young Dragon a small glass of plum wine and began to tell the two of his date that night. He was going to give his new girlfriend, to whom he always referred as "Kitten," a new little outfit to wear for outside just before to surprise her. Niku House made the cutest things for his Kitten to wear, as far was Cronos was concerned.

When he spoke of her, he heard a heavy sigh from the ninja. So, was that why he was so sad? Ah, how true. The girl about whom he had told the prince was afraid of him, right?

"... She left my area. I barely see her now."

"Gee, that's bad. I guess she's in the open now, ne? Gotta hurry up with that first move, Ryu," Cronos told him, his attitude becoming more casual with alcohol. The saddened youth silently took another sip. It was sweet, pleasant, and warm, a perfect mask for the slow killing poison it held. 

He felt warm... As if he was still next to her in bed, with her snuggled up against his velvety fur and him inhaling her scent, his pink nose nuzzled into her long hair. He longed to silently protect her and hold her close with his large paws defensively. 

He longed to caress her with bare hands and touch his lips to her face...

He shook his head at the thought. Such things were unheard of... yet he wanted them so badly. It was such an odd sensation, and he had not heard much of it from his clan. Surely this was not something he was supposed to be feeling, so why did he let it linger in his mind like this for so long?

It was time to be good and put this away.

_Like everything else...?_

He blinked. It was that voice again. Who was it?

_Child, _his soul broke in, _you are losing your control. It seems all you can do now is do what you have done for years unless you can correct the damage before you lose that hold on yourself. How long can you keep it up, child?_

He waved a hand and shook his head. "No... Nothing's wrong. I'm good."

_Stop trying to be so good..._

"Be quiet..."

_For your own sake..._

"Hey, we mean it, Ryu!"

"Huh?" 

The teenager came back to reality to find Shenlong and Cronos giving him strange looks. "A little dazed there, Ryu? Sheesh, you have a tolerance to all these deadly poisons, but a little ethanol fazes you. Anyway, I'm saying you need to live a little, take a page from the books of those around you. Life is hell. Make the best of it."

Shenlong added, "You're too good, kid. You're like Tylon's little spotless virgin ninja, if there is such a thing."

"Like that girl you talk about... Just make the move to make her yours before anyone else. Just take her, you know. And, you know what," he introduced, now not caring if he was contradicting anything he might have said earlier, "if you're sneaky... you can do a little 'stealing,' if she's taken, you know? Swoon her away from that creep. Girls like rebels and antiheroes."

"Enough," he whispered, getting out of his seat, "I can't listen to bad examples." He quietly walked away and then he was gone.

The prince looked at the man next to him and tapped his head with one finger. Shenlong nodded in response and then began to rant and they normally did in conversations. From down the bar, they heard, "Yo check this out!" and turned their heads to see one man who had gotten a hold of a blowtorch set a whole line of drinks on fire.

"Hey, I was drinking that!"

"You're such a pyro."

"That was hot! Do it again!"

The individual went down the bar, lighting drink after drink after drink, whether the drinker liked it or not. Cronos laughed out loud at Shenlong, who looked very annoyed with his shot glass now sporting a flame. The younger, still chuckling, looked around and saw his Kitten in the doorway. He quickly bid "Shen" farewell, as he did not want his Kitten to see him in the bar.

"My name-"

"Oh, hush..._Bitey."_

Shenlong's eyes widened and his left eyebrow started twitching uncontrollably. His bored face expression gave way to a snarling face and he stared audibly growling. The prince made no haste in making his speedy escape. The man had cooled off by the time the young lady was near him. He extinguished the fire in his class and turned to her, saying, "A little girl like you might not find a place like this friendly." The man made a gesture with his head to show her the perverts who were starting to point and whisper, but her attention probably fell on the trio next to them waving flaming mugs (who demonstrated his point nonetheless).

"I remember you..."

"Yes, we have met before."

"You look so familiar... do you have any relatives?"

He shot his blood red eyes straight ahead at nothing in particular for a fleeting moment, but then lowered them and returned to his ever bored expression. 

"None that I know of..." he replied. He brought the cigarette to his mouth and inhaled deeply. "Then again... that 'dragon' kid... and quite a few other can say the same thing."

"You mean... Young Dragon? Kenji?"

He nodded and inhaled more of the addiction. "Yeah, that's him. All the other members probably had families at some point... but the heirs don't."

"That's really sad..." She turned around, and then nodded her head decisively and turned back around with force. "I've got to talk to him! I'm going to seek him out from now on!"

Shenlong said nothing and merely stared with curious eyes. Rather, he stared at just behind her. In turning around, she whipped her braid about so it flew carelessly through the air. The end of it was sitting in one of the flaming mugs the drunk behind her was holding and he was wondering when she would notice her hair was on fire.

~~~~~~~~~

"What? You can't go?!"

Alice, standing across from him on the other side of an empty hospital bed, calmly explained she was going to be busy that night.

"Doing what, giving the old fart lap dances?"

"Wh-what?"

Yugo growled rudely, "With those silly pink nurse outfits you wear..."

The nurse tugged at her collar. "I wear these bright outfits when I take care of the children! I'm not that kind of person."

"You with your pink clothes... I'm sure you'd know what they'd like..."

He reached over and grabbed one of her pigtails in each hand and tugged on them.

"With your stupid little girly bunny ears."

"You think I'm some sort of bunny girl? Look at this," She yelled, showing him her pale arm, "Do I look like a bunny girl to you?!"

"No, you look like some lying little bitch!"

"WHAT?!"

Yugo thought about what he said and then continued in a cruel voice, "Sorry... You're no bitch, you're a little bunny rabbit. Maybe a bitch is what I need."

The irate Alice shot holes into the floor with her eyes and she shook in her rage. "So... that's what you want... is it? Some little slut...?"

_Maybe I shouldn't have said that. She wouldn't get that joke, would she?_

The next thing the nurses outside knew was a largely built man flying out of the room and crashing into a cart. He sat there in a daze before blinking a few times and moaning, "What do you know..."

A human sized white creature in a little pink nurse outfit-style one piece complete with the little hat stormed out of the room on its hind legs and headed for the children's room.

"... She really is a rabbit..."

~~~~~~~~~~~

A nurse came to the desk just as the phone was ringing. "What," he asked, "You say the performer can't make it? You must have the wrong hospital, he's already here. Oh, and I have to tell you, that nurse bunny costume is genius. The children love it."

~~~~~~~~~~

The traditional style quarters of Tylon's trusted ninja were almost a haven from the dreary metallic blue environment most of the building shared. The garden especially was a retreat from the cruel world, and even the clan itself. However, without the protesting shouts and the occasional overreacting shriek from that girl, it not even the garden could offer him solace anymore. She had been a refreshing breath of air from his life, which now seemed... miserable?

_You have had a lot of breaths of fresh air, do you not remember? You are falling for a rebellious spirit because yours is weak, or so you do not wish to believe._

"Why would I..." he began to whisper, but then stopped. Talking to oneself out loud was a rather ridiculous thing to do. Besides, what if someone found out his mind had degraded to such a point?

_They probably already know._

He shook his head to shake the voice away. Besides, it was back to his life as usual, or what he figured was usual without that girl. He had not recovered that many memories of the days before her. Besides, in the end, it would be himself and his master until he died and the youth took on his name and mission. He sighed and thought of how he did not want to think of such a day, even though he knew it would inevitably come. His master, after all, was not getting any younger.

He once again made his vow that someday before then he would do the act that would make his master proud of him. It disheartened the heir to see a perpetually displeased Bakuryu. He was sure he did everything as he was supposed to, but even still he did not seem to be any more pleased. When talking to the doctor and to his ninja, he always seemed, at least to his acolyte, displeased and disheartened. Was it all his fault? Whatever it was, he was going to be a good pupil and make it better. He nodded in confirmation. Surely, someday, his obedience was going to pay off.

That had to be the answer.

His sensitive ears picked up the raspy low tones that only his master produced. His trained mind was able to decipher the hushed tones and recognize the words and sentences he and another ninja were saying.

"It's getting hopeless, I fear. Do you think the Praise would allow another..."

"Master Bakuryu, are you thinking of... of..."

"We musn't blind ourselves any longer. Even before that day I delivered the punishment... I knew."

__

Are you eavesdropping, child?

No.... No, I'm not, he told the voice in his soul.

__

You are. Are they talking about you? 

"What would we do with the current... should you chose to I suppose it would be best to kill him."

There was a long silence and it could be somehow sensed there was much thought going into whatever reply would follow.

"... Perhaps we would give him to the doctor... permanently. Hopefully it would keep those large ugly hands off our new heir."

The Young Dragon became filled with ice and a heat ran down up his stiffened spine. His face completely froze and his eyes widened to their limits. What was this heat down his back, in his head, and behind his eyes? The wet heat leaked onto his body, melting the frozen surface and causing sudden thin fissures to split his self.

_Child, catch yourself! _he could hear the voice order him, but now next to a different voice that hissed seductively, reaching its warm arms around him, moving to caress.

His hands crept up the front of his chest, one grasping near his heart and he stiffly bent over, as if he depended on his arms to hold his physical self together, to keep it from falling in pieces on the floor.

"Master..."

Still clutching himself, he carried himself out of the quarters and through the darkness. He let go of himself only to leap up to a round indentation in the wall. His arms reached to desperately keep himself in one piece as he curled up into the shadows and leaned against the mesh that covered the huge broken fan.

He had committed the ultimate failure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the first time Uriko had seen the sky in a long time. She was almost scared at the sight of it and all the life suddenly surrounding her. People and colors surrounded her, the lights on the rides whizzed into streaming lines and the still ones made shining arms stretching against the pitch black sky. 

The prince paid the vendor and handed artificially colored pink fluffy sugar spun onto a paper cone to his one and only. He placed one hand on her head and frowned at what had become of her hair. It seemed it had caught on fire earlier that day. The flaming portion was slashed off, but the claws struck at such an angle that the shortest part did not even touch her chin. All that was salvageable for a decent haircut was barely enough to look like a girl's style.

"Dear Kitten," he asked her, "Would you like to try this ride?"

It was one that placed people in single compartments before spinning them around for a few minutes. He stood on line behind her, but when it came his turn to be placed in one of the compartments, he quickly backed out of the line. He moved behind the tents and into a shed where nobody saw. He stood there in silence and looked around nervously.

"Don't worry, you're in the right place."

He jumped back and faced the woman behind him, stuttering, "M-M-M-M-Mi-ss... G-Gado..."

She grinned a thin smile. "They call me Marvel."

"R-right..."

"Don't worry. I wouldn't be talking if it wasn't safe here."

Her name was Jannu, but all who knew her called her by the nickname given to her, Marvel. She was lean and muscular woman in her early twenties with sharp features and equally sharp hair. Her head was covered in streaked blond hair that had been smothered in who knows how much styling gel to put it up into the spikes she sported. Her shining blue eyes smiled, yet at the same time could shoot an icy glare to make the mightiest cower to her command. She was a powerful woman, and anything she wore had some relation to the army, like the green pants she wore with their camouflage print.

"Miss Marvel... You have got to help me."

"You've got to help me. Daddy is in that lousy stalemate. We gotta sink through to the core.... to some sort of weak point, and get them in trouble for anything, ANYTHING we can prove. They conveniently have it so we can't 'prove' any experiments."

She walked over to a wooden beam and casually leaned her arm against it. "While your father is king, you still have some freedom. Use it wisely. Find any way possible to ruin Tylon, even at the cost of your kingdom. The victory will be greater than that."

"I am aware of this," he sighed. He silently though of his father back home.

A form was heard clumsily stumbling through the door. They shifted into defensive positions, but then Cronos recognized who it was. "Kitten!"

"C-cronos...?" she wearily called, her eyes spinning.

"How did you find me?"

"I was following the duckie," she told him, pointing above her head, "It keeps on spinning..."

She put her hand on his shoulders and tried to grip them so she could hold her ground until everything stopped spinning. It would have been easier had it not been for the overly long sleeved of her thing sweatshirt. It was perfectly fit, white with blue and gold on the shoulders and along the arms, except for the sleeves, purposely much too long just for the sake of being fashionable. "Niku House" marked the collar as well as her matching tight shorts.

"Er, Marvel..."

She nodded and waved raised fingers over her shoulder as a farewell for when she walked away. 

"Who was that?" Uriko asked once she was feeling a little less queasy.

"Just... a friend..."

She nodded and the two continued to walk through the carnival, stopping to enjoy a ride, eat, or play a game. Despite what she had seen at Tylon, despite what she had seen, she was actually starting to enjoy herself once again and to forget her troubles.

"Heh, I know that aura anywhere," they heard a low voice laugh.

__

Fuck. That's... What was she thinking brining me to a carnival next to...

A huge, incredibly muscular man in a colorful leotard and top hat and a wide perfect toothy grin stepped through the crowd. 

"Say there, Missy! We're always looking for-"

"She's not interested!" He yelped and quickly let her away.

_She's gotta be playing some sort of trick, brining me to Greg's Circus!_

As they ran, Uriko's eyes caught sight of posters with claims of new wonders of the world... supposed "beast men" and "no costumes!"

"Come on, the circus will be a blast!"

__

He's still following us!

The two kept weaving through people until they had accidentally wove into a line so quickly the sleepy teenaged worker thought they had been there to begin with. They were ushered into a box on a ferris wheel before anyone could argue. "At least we're safe," Cronos said. With a lurch and the sudden swinging back and forth of their closed car, the ride started and the two moved up a notch to let the next be filled with another couple. From above, they watched the giant man look around in confusion, scratch his head, and trudge back to the circus.

"So what's with that guy?" Uriko asked him, now curious over the people he seemed to know.

"That man, Gregory Jones, is the leader of a 'Zoanthrope Circus.' Thankfully, many of the non-zoanthrope world do not believe what they see. He knows better than the fully flaunt Zoanthropes in this world, though as time goes on he seems to be more and more daring."

"Does he have anything against you?"

"No, he does not. That individual deeply disturbs me, that's all."

"I see..."

The last car had been filled and the giant lighted wheel turned. The cars swayed gently as they rotated through the air. Uriko looked through the "window" with a solemn expression. When their car reached its highest point on its rounds, the silvery bright moon was at its prettiest. Cronos leaned over and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Are you enjoying our date?" he whispered, now shifting the rest of his body close to her.

"I'm tired of being a prisoner," she whispered back, not turning from the night sky.

"As am I. But, dear Kitten, you now have the freedom to share nights like this with me."

She reached up with a delicate touch and lightly hooked her fingers into the woven metal. "It's all an illusion," she said sadly, "How can we have fun like this when there are such sad things going on back there?"

"You haven't lived here as long as I have. I was sent here as a young child to be "raised properly" with Tylon and I am an experiment myself I fear. I have only fading memories from my few visits to my homeland."

"But what about all those experiments?"

He held her more tightly around the shoulder and slid his other arm towards the teenager to hold her closer to him. "What about my mother?" he asked, whispering in a barely audible voice into her ear.

"They took my mother, and I know they still have her, doing unspeakable things to her. I was once on an undying quest to find her, but I could only go on trying for so many years..."

"Cronos, she's your mother!"

"Kitten," he continued to whisper, "I am aware of that, even though I have no memories of her, except dreams. I suppose you fancy yourself rushing headfirst into danger, overcoming all your opponents with only the power of good and a little training on your side, and bagging a cute boy while you're at it, but it doesn't work that way."

He hugged her tightly and the ferris wheel stopped to start letting people out and the new riders back on. Their car held its place at the top where Uriko could see the moon still shining.

~~~~~~~~~~

"So... you're going to get 'The Talk' from ol' Gado," Yugo grunted. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair on front of Gado's desk, waiting for the inspector. Next to him was Alice in another chair, slightly bent over with her hands folded in her lap.

"Zoanthropes," she mumbled, "It figures. It wasn't a full moon that night."

The pigtailed woman reached into her inside breast pocket. "I guess I won't be needing this."

She tossed a small handgun onto the desk. Yugo's eyes bugged out when he saw this. 

"Wha-what..."

"Silver bullets. I wanted to uncover a real werewolf."

He just stared at her dumbfounded and finally asked, "What kind of nurse are you?"

"Look, I love the moon and I'm a wolf, but I ain't no werewolf," he firmly stated with a defensive wave of his hands. He then let out a sad breath of air and asked her, "I guess you don't really like even stargazing. No one understands how much I love the moon. And I'm going to be missing a nice clear full moon tonight, too..."

Alice felt guilt run through her. She leaned her head so she could see outside the small open window behind Gado's desk. Without warning, she stood up and leaned on the sill and looked outside. She opened the window a little further for a better view.

"You can kind of see the moon from here," she suggested. Yugo came over and glanced up at the heavenly sphere, which still glowed brightly against the city lights. The two of them looked at Yugo's first true love for a while. 

"Look, I'm sorry for..."

"..Yeah, me too. I'm such an idiot."

She gave him a small slap on the shoulder and teased, "No, you're not."

"Long ago," Alice then told him, "People thought the craters on the moon looked like a rabbit pounding mochi. Can you see it, the rabbit?"

"Is that why it's so beautiful?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Young Dragon, still shielded by the dark, now enhanced by the ritualistic gradual shutdown of the lights, still lay by himself and himself. He swayed side to side gently, though not holding his shattered self so tightly now. He quietly peeked from his aloof perch to the still lit area below him from where he had heard familiar voices just then.

It was the Prince Cronos, but who was that with him? She had short hair, but that voice was only that of one person he knew. She turned so he could see her better and his enhanced senses did not lie to him. That was Uriko. So was Cronos "that guy" of whom she spoke?

"There is nobody to fear when you are with me. I will keep you safe. It is my duty as a prince - no, as a man."

Even "Kenji" could not promise her security, even from himself. That was why she...

"How corny! Why do you always talk like that?" 

That was indeed Uriko's voice.

"I am a proper gentleman, Kitten, my sweet Uriko. I know how to treat a woman. There is nothing to fear."

"Kenji" made a fool of himself. "Kenji" gave her much to fear.

"It is without a doubt we are both in a prison, but unlike anyone else here, I can make your life here a paradise."

"Kenji" could not do that!

Cronos took the sleepy Uriko in his arms and gently pressed his lips to hers. Uriko, foggy with sleep, succumbed and let herself fall into his arms and his kiss. He held her more tightly and ran his fingers through her hair as she gripped his arm with her fingers.

The young heir did not even hear the voice inside him order him to catch himself. He collapsed back into the shadows, his wide eyes staring at the metal above him as he felt the warm arms finally surround and caress him, sinking into his heart to finally claim him. The child, after years of trial, had finally shattered, leaving him motionless and incapable even of proper thought. Something in his core was finally free to dance about and then return to him to take him in his disabled state. The sadness was the closest thing to a loving caress, and the darkness that enveloped him felt so warm, as if he was still next to her.


	16. A Claim to the First Move

Chapter 16: A Claim to the First Move

~~~~~~~~~

She sighed. Where was he? Uriko sat on the overpass that looked down upon the main labs. If he was going to step outside his clan's quarters, he would pass through this room without a doubt. Then again, maybe he only left his quarters when he was on a mission, so perhaps it was good he stayed inside. 

She pondered why she wanted to see him now. She had somehow gotten over most of her fear of him somehow. Was it hypnosis? She started feel somewhat betrayed, but at the same time she felt grateful she could talk to him again. At one time, he was the only person she could trust in this place, and then she suddenly turned against him. Now she was living with a prince, protected by his money and influence. Still, the more she stayed with him, the guiltier she felt. Now, she wanted to see Kenji again. She wanted to make sure he was okay without her, that his mind was not being completely controlled by those ninja.

Uriko sat down on the metal bridge and tried to keep her hopes up. When a brown leaf fluttered before her face, she excitedly turned around,

"Kenji!" she cried, but her hopes were soon diminished when she saw the old master standing before her. "What have you done with him?" he growled.

She voiced without thinking, "Huh? Who?"

"The Young Dragon," he told her in an angrier voice, "What have you done with him?"

"Is something wrong with Kenji? I haven't seen him in a while."

He looked at her with a disbelieving glare, searching for the telltale signs of a liar. "I have not, either. He has been missing for the past few days, most likely because of the games you play."

She became defensive at that remark. Bakuryu paid no attention and then asked her if she knew of his clan's heirloom. She appeared to be telling the truth when she said she knew nothing of any heirlooms.

"The one place where Young Dragon's scent was fresh," he told her, "Was where the heirloom was kept. The chest holding it is empty."

"What, is it more important than him?" she asked accusingly.

"Our heirloom caused him much grief many years ago, and ever since, he has not even dared to go near where it's kept. He avoids merely entering the room, if possible."

"Something is very wrong," Bakuryu then whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Sweet smell of roses,_ He composed in his mind,

_Intoxicating catnip_

My playful Kitten

He happily strolled to a colorful tin that probably cost much more money than it was worth and pulled out a small ginger snap. This was the high called love, famous for making many a self respecting person fall into a dreamy daze. In the middle of his cookie, the door opened and in stepped his one and only. "Kitten," he called out, "Welcome home!" While his precious guest trudged to the next room without having heard him, he burst into a wordy proclamation of his feelings. "I have counted the minutes so eagerly while you were gone," he cooed, "Tylon is undeserving of such a display of your total beauty, and I have been waiting for what seems like eternity to see you walk back through the door to seek asylum from the troubles around you."

He spun around, his arms wide open. "Come! We'll make love!"

Upon seeing nobody on front of him, Cronos looked around foolishly and then went to the next room. She was seated on a couch, looking downcast. "Kitten," he called to her, "Is something the matter?"

He then lightly touched one fingertip and continued, "Ah! Speak not! I have noticed your less happy mood over the course of the past few days and I have prepared a surprise for you."

He led her by the shoulders back to the main room by the shoulders and told her to wait on front of the mirror. He would be right back with her present.

"Prince Cronos," his bodyguard butted in, "There's a call for you."

The young man resisted cussing under his breath, though he did make a silent scowl behind Uriko's back. "Can't this wait?" he asked, trying not to sound tense.

"It's from his highness, your father."

"Wait right here," he told the kitten, giving her a light pat on her shoulders. Cronos stormed off mumbling, "What the hell does that idiot pawn want?" He roughly snatched the receiver from Ganesha's hand and angrily brought it to his face. As soon as he started to speak, any evidence of annoyance or anger mysteriously melted away.

"Dearest Father," he chirped, "It has been far too long since I have heard from you last! Hm? Why yes, I have been courting someone..."

Uriko, still on front of the mirror, turned around slightly and wondered if he was talking about her. She turned back to the mirror and looked down at herself and the other casual outfit Cronos had bought her. It was baisically the same outfit, only trimmed in a slightly different way, but the print was the major difference. While the one she had worn to the carnival bore blue with a yellow border across the shoulders and along the sides of the legs on the shorts, this version's areas of color were areas of bright pink zebra stripes. She held up her hands, hidden by the sleeves, and sighed. _I look like some sort of raver or something, _she joked in her mind. Uriko looked in the mirror and did a goofy little dance on front of it, humming a tune to herself.

"Of course! I am very concerned about our nation's future..." Cronos then paused and laid his eyes on the girl, who was rhythmically swinging her hips from side to side.

"... And that is one fine ass..." he purred thoughtlessly. "Huh?" he yelped upon hearing his father's reaction, "Erm, that is to say..."

To overshadow what he had accidentally let slip out before, he practically yelled into the receiver, "I said she has a great butt for bearing sons!"

"Wh-What?!" Uriko stammered. Cronos slapped one hand to his face and growled curses to himself. Ganesha merely moaned and shook his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, who is this person?" Alice asked, trying not to breathe. "I told you. I don't really know," Yugo answered, also attempting in vain to turn off his nose. The two were holding onto the metal "straps" of a subway car, though it was so crowded enough that human beings that the crowd would hold them in place just fine. Unfortunately, packed into this condensed can of a car was somebody whose personal habits created a strong and foul stench. Cruel fate had this person packed right next to them.

"Well, I hope we'll be able to at least get off the train when our stop comes," Alice voiced uncomfortably. She was desperately wishing the crown would disappear so she would get the chance to scratch her bottom.

"Don't worry," the boxer assured her in a nasal voice, "His stop is near the end of the line. I'll bet the train'll be empty by the time we get there."

When Alice grumbled in her frustration, Yugo argued, "Hey, Gado said he was a recluse!"

"Can't he be alone without living all the way out there? Honestly..."

There was a moment of silence and then much shifting of the crammed masses. "Oi. Rabbit. Was that you?"

"No."

"What? You eat all that tofu an' whatnot and you're telling me it isn't you?"

The nurse growled, "It's the meat that makes it smell bad, dumbass. 

"You're blaming me now?" The wolf, in becoming defensive, had elbowed some innocent bystanders in shifting his position. "I didn't think you'd sink that low."

"Shut up, mutt."

"Mutt? Mutt?! I ain't no mutt, rabbit!"

~~~~~~~~~~~

The prince, smiling profusely, still kept his back turned and his eyes shut. May I look now, Kitten?

"Sure."

He turned around and found his choice looked just as nice on her has he had imagined. "It's perfect!" he cooed.

Uriko looked down at herself. "You don't think it's a little skimpy?" Her body was just barely covered by the two pieces of the red bikini. It was a rather simple design, actually. The pieces were held onto the body by tying little bows on the sides. The fabric was bright red with a pattern of gold coins, the long coins waving cats held in their paws.

"It fits your figure marvelously, Kitten," he sighed. He put one hand on his hip, which was covered in tight blue swimming trunks, and slung a towel over his shoulder. He opened the door to a huge room of clear baby blue tiles and tinted glass. The smell of chlorine from the water of the huge swimming pool in the center that permeated the locker rooms as well as the halls was much stronger now.

Uriko, amazed, stared in silence.

"There's more than one building to Tylon," Cronos reminded her.

The two walked along the side past many chairs where other pool goers were seated. The pool was reserved for those who barely worked at all for huge sums of money they had. All of them were the very rich, the people who had much control in Tylon Corporation and those who were closely linked to Tylon. 

Uriko started to say, "Are you sure it's alright to enjoy myself when..."

"Hush, hush," he lightly purred, "I figured you might not like to play, so I reserved a spot for you at the spa to relax your nerves. How would you like to be pampered and groomed like the princess you deserve to be, Kitten?" He reached through her hair with his fingertips and gave her a little scratch behind her ear. The girl chuckled slightly. It did feel good despite the guilty feelings coming back to her. 

With a wave of his hand, he invited, "Shall we?" He led her away from the pool to a hallway with a desk. Uriko stood behind Cronos while he dealt with the receptionist. 

_"So much money to throw away over you... Is that why?"_

"What?" 

The receptionist and the prince looked at the girl, who was looking around behind her asking who was there. There was nobody, much to her confusion. "I thought I heard someone..." she said. After a few seconds, Cronos shrugged and went back to talk to the receptionist.

_"He gives you clothes and gifts anything you desire. Is that why?"_

"There it is again!" she yelped. The receptionist leaned over the desk and told her there were other people in the building. She blushed in embarrassment and looked to one side.

__

"Look at you, all dressed up so he can do this!"

She could have sworn she felt something tugging at the sides of her clothes. Uriko looked down when she felt a breeze around her chest and shrieked, "Someone took my top!" Cronos immediately turned to her.

"What? Stay close to me..."

He reached one arm around her and pulled her in so his body hid hers. _Yeah, that's the stuff, _his mind purred at her chest pressed up against his own. He took the towel from his shoulder and gently put it around her while he still held her. He narrowed his eyes and looked around.

"Some fiend is lurking about."

"Step this way, Miss..."

Uriko gave the prince a slight wave before disappearing behind the door.

She was led into a bright room that smelled of aromatherapy oils and fruits where she lay back on a table whilst the expert slathered her face in a sweet smelling mask. 

_"Isn't there a word for girls who do that?"_

"Get away from me!" Uriko yelled, sitting straight up. 

"Please, stay still..."

"Are you sure there's nobody weird here?"

No peace was found in the sauna, either. The room was very small and mist clouded her sight. Still, she heard the voice when she closed her eyes to relax.

_"Then again, I suppose I don't care if you're virtuous or not."_

Uriko's eyes shot open to find someone sitting in a towel across from her. However, all she could make out was thin brown hair that fell around the face and a small smirk. She immediately sat up to catch this intruder. The figure calmly poured water over the rocks to further fill the room with white haze. When Uriko reached the other side, her apparent stalker was gone.

Needless to say, Uriko was becoming seriously chilled by these events.

She lay on the massage table, waiting not only for her masseuse, but for the voices to come. She felt fingertips on her shoulders and relaxed. The girl let out a deep breath and drifted away along with the help of the hands. She did think it was a little odd that the massage was not as relaxing as she had heard. Also, she did not feel any perfumes or oils on her skin. Full hands touched her and she noticed the feeling of fabric where the palms were. That was rather odd to her, but she supposed it was part of the technique. 

Then, she felt something soft against the back of her neck: a kiss.

_"Does that feel good? Tell me, who is running through your thoughts right now?" _

She rolled over onto her back and found her face-to-face with the youth who had been following her. In his gold eyes was an odd glimmer in the relaxed, pleased expression they seemed to bear, one she had seen in the green eyes of the prince. Strands of straight hair hung from his head and tickled her face. The smell of strong musk flowed from them.

"K... Ken... ji...?"

His eyes formed a dull, displeased expression. "What an awful name to call someone. It's so... weak."

The boy crawled onto the table and towered over her reclining form on all fours. His scarf was absent, as well as his usual yellow shirt. Over his bare chest was sleeveless chain mail and his left shoulder and arm bore an orange sleeve of thick fabric. On the side of it was red plate armor that was reminiscent of a samurai's armor. 

She shrank underneath the youth who was acting so strangely now. She barely recognized his face with such an expression. Even his voice did not sound at all familiar.

"You're not used to this, aren't you?" he taunted.

Uriko started edging backwards, trying to get out from under him. With a slight chuckle, the boy clamped her arms with his and completely trapped her body against the table.

"I own you, little girl," he growled, his breath brushing up against her face, "The first move was always mine."

Just as the doorknob started to turn, his hand moved too quickly to be watched carefully before a large flash of light was emitted. When the teenager could see again, she was staring through a shower of bright green leaves at a confused-looking masseuse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wolf had been pounding at the door for what seemed like hours. This little house was quite a walk away from the subway stop and from other houses, period. It was all by itself, surrounded by greenery and a rock formation could be see behind it. Yugo looked down at the paper in his hands. It had to have been the right house.

"Open up!" he yelled, "I know you're in there! Show yourself!"

"Yugo..." The rabbit whispered.

"Hey, don't tell me I spent ten billion hours coming all the way out here to see nobody!" he complained.

"COME ON OUT!" 

"Someone's coming," Alice hissed when she heard footsteps. 

A mature and sad voice was heard from around the house. It was coming nearer with the footsteps. 

"Please leave. Is rest so much to ask of you?"

He came around the corner and they could see the man looking at them with a very tired look. He touched the side of his house lightly with one hand, but he stood up perfectly straight. His dreary eyes lay behind locks of black hair that fell to either side of his face. 

"All I want is rest."

"Mister Long?" 

"Miss Nonomura..." He said with a slight amount of surprise in his voice.

Alice was unaccustomed to see him dressed in anything other than the typical teacher's garb. Long Shin now wore a loose white sleeveless top and loose green pants with them, which tucked into white that reached down to small black Chinese shoes. He wore very large and ornate weights on his wrists and he smelled very strongly of incense.

"You know him, rabbit?"

"He's one of Uriko's teachers."

"The younger Miss Nonomura has been absent for a long time."

Alice nodded. "That's part of why we're here."

"Gado sent us," Yugo added.

He reached the door and lay his hand over the doorknob. "Alan Gado..." he whispered, staring off into the distance. He continued to gaze into space and into his own soul for a few silent seconds.

"So, are you gonna talk to us or what?" the boxer rudely asked.

Long blinked back to the present and apologized. "How rude of me. Please come in."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"I...I'm fine..." She stuttered, "I'll just go to bed now, okay?"

"But Kitten... You seemed awfully flustered since you left the spa. Are you sure-"

"I'm fine!" She yelled in her haste. Uriko closed the door loudly and then leaned against it, panting.

The flush was rushing to her face and she covered it with her hands, almost in an attempt to stop it. Why did she keep on feeling this way? Why was her guilt responding to Kenji's accusations? She was not a foul temptress! 

Sure, she had not seen Kenji in such a long time, but that was pretty much outside her control, was it not? Besides, she had gotten rather close to him, but she was rather sure she was not close enough to him so he could say such things. 

_"So, maybe you do have a soul..."_

She whipped her head around and saw him, perched atop her dresser. He sat cross-legged, one leg hanging down. His arms were folded across his chest and he looked down at her. He wore that same slight grin from before.

"What do you want?"

He leapt down and landed right on front of her and cupped her chin in one hand. 

"I think it's pretty obvious."

"Kenji, why are you acting like this?"

He frowned. "Must you call me that? I deserve a different name, something stronger."

"What...?"

He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. "Something like... Bakuryu... Yes, that's what my name is..." A tongue protruded from those lips and began to lick her fingers. "It sounds so much better..."

_My... My fingers are hot..._

"Cut that out!," she shrieked, bringing the other hand across his face. He stayed in place, his eyes shut. His mouth curved into a scowl. The hand that held her own so gently now clenched it tightly.

"Kenji... You're hurting me..."

"I don't know much," the youth growled before sending his fist straight through the fancy wooden table next to the door, "But I do know I'm angry. I'm angry because of everything and I am angry because of you."

"But I don't care," he purred once more, leaning his face close to hers, "If you are so sure you are not cheating on me with him... Then you shall cheat on him with me."

The door suddenly opened and Cronos stepped in. "Kitten? I thought I heard something breaking."

He looked at her, completely flushed on the floor. "What's wrong?" he asked, "And where did all these leaves come from?"


	17. Who is Bakuryu?

Chapter 17: Who is Bakuryu?

Okay, I guess I'm just going to post this, but this chapter feels very wrong. Nothing really happens in it and it seems I have reverted back to "too much dialogue," phase. Anyway, the next chapter will be a bit better hopefully, and it probably won't just be you-know-who popping out of nowhere repeatedly, so bear with me. ^_^;;

Oh dear.

I STILL don't have the plot worked out! I thought I would by now _. Yes, I know this is fanfiction, but it should be conceived from the very beginning, or at least early on. I mean, I have all the events resulting, but I just need the reason. 

~~~~~~~~~

The martial artist Long Shin retrieved a small pair of glasses and slid them onto his face before tending to the whistling kettle. He poured the boiling water into a fine ceramic teapot after dropping in a metal tea ball before returning to the table where his guests were seated. He had an extra chair for the very small dinner table to be polite in the rare event of a visitor's arrival, but otherwise his house suited one person, though it had enough room to house a few. Long lived alone at the end of a stretch of houses that were spread rather far apart. The back of his home was right up against a rock formation, in which there was a small grotto where he would meditate, as he was doing when Yugo and Alice arrived.

"Thank you for your patience," he calmly said with lowered eyes. Finely controlled and graceful hands poured aromatic tea into the small and delicate cups set before his guests. Yugo, who was seated in a chair that had to be brought from elsewhere in Long's home, took a big gulp and nearly choked when he scalded his mouth. Alice cast an angry glare his way and gently took a small sip from her cup. 

She put it down and told him, "Gado says you know a lot about Tylon."

"Indeed," he whispered, pain showing up on his face, "So how does the elder Nonomura sister become mixed up in Tylon's affairs? Has little Uriko... died?"

"You think she's dead?!" 

"Has she... vanished, Miss Alice?"

When he saw in Alice's face that his assumption was correct, he closed his eyes and continued, "'Vanished' and 'dead' can mean the same thing, especially with Tylon and the people they hire."

Yugo became angry at how he was playing with Alice's emotions. "Look," he told him, "My brother was missing for about a year, he shows up one night with this girl, who just so happens to be Alice's sister. They stay the night and they disappear without a trace the next."

"It would seem your brother is a delinquent."

An enraged boxer thrust his hand across the table and grabbled Long by his shirt. The older man let himself be pulled forward and seemed unfazed when Yugo yelled in his face, "Don't you dare dis my brother like that! Kenji wouldn't do such a thing!"

He gently placed one hand on Yugo's and lightly pushed it away. "You would be surprised what your own brother would do to you." Yugo went back to his chair, crossed his arms, and looked away, sulking.

He continued to ask, "Is Tylon hunting for more subjects? The two of you have a very strong zoanthrope aura. Have your powers recently been awakened, Miss Nonomura?" She nodded and he stated, "That would explain it. I had a feeling you were a sleeping Zoanthrope."

"Well, I am adopted."

"Uriko, on the other hand..." He stopped.

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked.

"I fear for the worst. Your sister definitely let off a faint aura not unlike the one a dormant zoanthrope emits, but it was a very peculiar aura I could never quite figure out. One of the days not long before her absence, she was carrying a mole in her bag. Its scent and energy were unmistakable. It was a soil dwelling assassin."

Yugo stopped sulking a moment to grumble, "That must have been Kenji."

"What was that you said?"

"When Kenji came back, he told Uriko 'n me about zoanthropes and how he could turn into a little mole."

"A small, regular mole..."

"Yeah."

"You're telling me your brother is one of the Clan of the Soil...."

"That's what Gado says."

"Yugo found Kenji a few years back and raised him for about five years, "Alice informed him. She retrieved a photograph of Kenji and Uriko together and showed it Long. 

"Has it been that long?" he sighed, "I suppose he would be that age about now. He seems to be blind..."

"Uriko found this mole in her yard and made a pet out of it. She even took that thing with her when mom took us with her on a business trip. We went to the mall while mom was at work and that's when she disappeared."

"This boy is not a killer. When I saw him, I knew he was hiding, so I let him be. If I am correct, he is an heir to his clan of ninja, so someone came back for him, and that someone probably took Uriko as well."

"What do you think happened to Uriko?"

"I musn't say. Merely thinking of this pains me. She was one of my favorite students. I even taught her Kenpo, despite the fact I once declared my skills would never be inherited. Your sister changed my heart, Miss Alice. I never thought I would ever again feel the way I did when I was with her. Such youth... Such energy, such hope. I felt as if I was being pieced back together again."

"Long..."

"Hm?"

Now Alice was the one who jumped up and grabbed the man. "What did you do to Uriko?"

"Excuse me?"

"If you touched her in any way, shape, or form I swear I'll... I'll..."

"......Meep?"

"Woah, Alice!" Yugo said aloud in wonder. He edged his chair away from her slightly.

"Rest assured, I did no such thing to the child." He got her back into her seat and then turned to the younger man and asked, "What relationship did Uriko have with 'Kenji?'"

Yugo scratched his head and came out of his rotten mood. "Gee... I think Kenji had a crush on her. I remember hearing say he was stuck as a mole most of the day except for around midnight, and that's when he'd talk to her in her sleep. The kid seemed to want her to accept him. Poor little guy. He never had that many friends."

Long nodded. He was the one who had destroyed the device controlling his transformational powers.

"I wonder if she made him feel the same way. Alas, such a cruel world this is."

"EEEEK!"

Long immediately shot up from his seat and whipped his head about. "Tylon?" His head along with Yugo's turned to Alice, who was panicking in her seat.

"Kenji... That mole she slept with... HE'S the pervert I saw! I DID see a naked boy looming over her that night!"

Yugo chuckled. "Well, I guess he did like her, huh?"

"This isn't funny," she shrieked, "If Uriko's alive, she might be pregnant... or have AIDS or something!"

"AIDS?! My Kenji doesn't have any AIDS!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"He... He doesn't, alright!"

Long made a slight sound in his throat, and it stopped them only so they could briefly turn to him and yell, "You stay out of this!" While they continued to bicker, he silently rose from his seat and turned to the window. He lightly placed one hand on the glass.

_Shall I hope you live? Would prayers for well-being be blasphemies from a mouth such as mine? _

Long's eyes relaxed and he continued to stare at the leaves fluttering in the breeze, once again letting anything at all bring him back to reflecting on his life and his sorrow in a world apart.

~~~~~~~~

"Uriko, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing!" She stammered. The girl almost pushed him out of her way in her race out of his quarters. She ran until she saw she was alone. Uriko thrust her back against the wall and started panicking. Had she been seeing things?

"Relax, Love," a voice purred from the darkness, "I am indeed real."

She turned around and came face to face with those narrowed eyes and that relaxed smirk. Once again, a strong musk flowed from his straightened hair and numbed her mind.

"You look tense. Were you hoping I was merely a fantasy?" As those words fell from his mouth, the brought up his hands by the sides of his head as if to showcase his face. He tilted his head so he could look down on her with his confident and cool gaze.

She stared at him and tried to speak through her gaping mouth. Uriko shook her head and brought herself to her senses.

"What's gotten into you?"

"Hmm?"

"This... This isn't like you."

His expression became dark. "So you were using me."

How did the conversation suddenly turn to this?

"What? No!"

He tightly gripped her wrists and shoved her against the wall.

"You were, weren't you?"

"Kenji, you know I wasn't!"

"Bakuryu!" He barked into her face, "My name is Bakuryu, and I am no weakling. Nobody falls in love with the weak. I am merely marking what is mine, as anyone would."

"Kenji, where are you getting these ideas?"

He glared angrily at her once more and rose one hand above her. Just then a voice echoed through the halls.

"HAJIME!" Shenlong roared, and as soon as he had finished doing so, the ninja disappeared once more in a flash of green. The much larger man stormed through holding up a lavender bottle, yelling, "You've been swiping my hair oil, haven't you, Busu-frea-"

He stopped and sniffed the air. The, he grabbed Uriko and leaned over to smell her hair. He sniffed the air once again and then stormed off in the manner in which he had arrived.

_I don't get it... Is this brainwashing?_

Uriko decided to pull herself together. She ran off to find the man who had so rudely interrupted them. "Umm..."

"My name is not 'Umm.' I am Shenlong. Do not forget that."

"Right, Shenlong... Do you know Kenji, I mean, Young Dragon?"

He blinked, "Ryu? That immature ninja? I guess so. What about him?"

"Does he act... you know... strange every now and then?"

Shenlong cocked an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head. "Whaddaya mean? He's either in 'normal,' 'normal,' or 'grimey killah ninja' mode."

"Huh?"

He looked at the ceiling and tried to explain with much waving of his hand, "I guess you have to know him for a while to notice it. He's either in one of two different moods, know what I mean? Sometimes, he's more... I don't know... serious? Depressed? Most of the time, he's pretty much the same, but he's got this little kid mentality. It gets kind of annoying after a while."

Uriko put one hand to her chin and thought. Perhaps she had seen these two moods. "What about the other mode? Does he suddenly get overly confident?"

"Hell no! There's no personality at all there! He just flies across the floor and kills people like crazy like some sort of robot. He's rarely like that and he stays that way for a few minutes at most. It's crazy. He just phases out, you know? Sometimes he'll wind up running into a wall or something."

She had definitely seen that before. 

"Aaaanyway," the man continued, "HAJIME!"

Uriko jumped.

"You've been stealing my hair shit, haven't you?"

A flush was heard and the scientist came running back into the room, still buttoning his pants. "Why would I want your stinky hair oil?"

"Well, _somebody's _been sneaking a little from _my _bottle, and he's been using a lot!"

"Shenlong. Do I smell like shit? No. I haven't been taking your stinkin' hair oil."

He walked over so Shenlong could examine him with his nose and the bulky man frowned at the absence of any of its stench on him.

"No... So who-"

"The PERVERT!" Uriko shrieked. 

"Huh?"

With a savage yell, she brought up her foot for a devastating kick to his face. Busuzima clapped one overly large hand to his nose and, muttering muffled curses, rushed off to find a first aid kit.

"Kid..." he commended in a voice that tried to conceal his surprise at the sudden attack, "That was a good shot."

He then continued to say, "Could you do me a teensie little favor? Tell me if you come across anyone who smells like my hair."

"Excuse me?"

Shenlong stooped down to her level, lightly cupped her chin, and explained, "Combined with the right actions and looks... This scent makes me ready to seduce, doesn't it?"

Uriko found a bright red flush coming to her face against her will. She could remember the lonely nights filled with fantasies of well built older men, like her literature teacher, coming in the night for her. Thought it was more faint so she may not be aware of its control over her senses until it was too late, she noticed her mind was being numbed by a familiar scent. 

_Kenji?_

Shenlong laughed and drew away from her. Nobody could match his looks and charm, as far as he was concerned, simply because he was Shenlong. "Damn, I'm good..." he told himself while bringing up his hands to showcase his face. Uriko walked away, still in somewhat of a daze.

"Is she gone?" asked a nasal voice.

"Yeah, yeah..."

Busuzima nervously stepped into the room. A large bandage was now over his nose.

"Hajime."

"What is it now?" he moaned.

"I crave something sweet."

The doctor reached into his pocket for a snack he was saving for himself. He tossed the pink daifuku wrapped in clear plastic onto the table. Shenlong snatched it up and tore off the wrapper.

"Hah! Dai, fuku, dai!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alice and Yugo, panting, leaned over the table. Both had one arm around the shoulder of the other and the free arms shared a box of chocolate covered cookie sticks.

"I'm sorry I hit you over the head..." Yugo apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry about your foot."

"Hey, feet get smashed. What are you gonna do? Want another?"

The nurse reached into the box, sighing, "Yes, thank you. What do you think Mr. Long is doing?"

Yugo looked over to the window, where Long had been in the exact same position for their entire fight. "I dunno. He looks kinda phased out." The boxer got out of his seat and walked over to him.

"Long..." he whispered. He snapped his fingers around him and still got no response. 

"Yo, Long!" Yugo waved one hand on front of his face and yelled, "Earth to Long! Are you on drugs or something?"

The teacher blinked and turned to him lazily, asking, "Hm? Did you say something?"

"Nevermind..." he moaned.

"Whatever the case is," Alice told them both, "We need to get our information straight so we know what's going on and why Gado sent us to you."

Long lowered his eyes to the floor and suggested, "Perhaps it would be best if I said as little about myself as possible."

"I didn't come all the way here just to tell some guy my problems," Yugo snapped in frustration, "We want some information, too!"

Before he could stop it, Long's hand came out for the boxer's shoulder and held him up against the wall. He hissed, "Would you really like that? Do you have any idea of the things I've seen, the thing's I've done?"

The younger stared back in silence and was let go after a few seconds. "Forgive me," the older man muttered, "But you must tell me your stories from the very beginning. I shall tell you from what I do know of what might have happened, if it is not something too terrible."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Uriko." 

The voice interrupted the train of thought passing through her mind as she walked back to the quarters she shared with the prince.

The girl spun around. "Why do you-"

Her voice was cut off by lips meeting hers. Slender arms held her tightly should she have decided to struggle.

"I'm seducing you. Isn't it obvious?"

He brushed back a lock of her hair and chuckled, "Your nervous act makes me laugh. You are begging to be ravished."

"Now wait a minute," Uriko stammered, "I wanna know why you're so-"

Once again, he silenced her with a kiss, now taking advantage of an open mouth. The girl cringed and pushed herself away.

"Gross!" She squealed. His smile wavered.

She yelled, "You don't just stick in your tongue and hold it there! I felt like I had a slug in my mouth!"

"Hmm... So you want me to try it again?" 

"N-no! That's not what I said, I-Mph!"

Meanwhile, the old master's head turned when he heard muffled moans and the sounds of squirming and movement as he passed through the hall. A site of misery and suffering was a very strange place to hear these noises. It was then, among the pheromones and too much musk, he caught the scent of the Young Dragon.

With silent motions, he approached the missing youth, who had a certain girl pinned to the floor underneath him. Without turning around, he growled, "Do you mind?"

"Young Dragon-"

"Bakuryu. My name is Bakuryu.

"The heirloom!" the master exclaimed when he saw the armor, "How dare you defile it in this way?"

"Shut up, old man. Your precious heirloom was going to waste locked up in that shrine, so I decided to put it to some good."

"I demand an explanation," he ordered, "You will march to your room right now."

"You know what, old man? I won't. Screw this."

The younger ninja waved his hands to drop a flash of light to make yet another mysterious disappearance. The elder was not fooled. His focus darted around the room. Instead of following the heir, he turned to the panting girl on the floor. She looked up at him with the same expression he was giving her and was about to ask the same question.

"What the hell is going on here?"


	18. The Unforgivable Crime

Gasp! Can it be? MidMole has returned! Yes, after weeks of being lazy (well, I have school. That can be my excuse), I have finally written chapter 18 of MidMole! Well, it turns out we won't be finding out where Bakuryu gets his seductive schtick just yet. Don't worry, it'll be a lighthearted chapter (poor snapped Kenji). You could probably figure it out if you read Chapter 17 really closely for a certain thing he does that should tip you folks off.

I hope you still like my MidMole after all this time and after all the things that have happened.

Chapter 18 - The Unforgivable Crime

~~~~~~~~~

The scientist heard the pitter-pat of tiny footsteps that only a small child would make. He turned, figuring he knew who made them. Wide yellow eyes stared back at him from a familiar face. "Excuse me, Doctor," he politely requested in his quiet voice. The child was dressed in yellow and in his arms was old red plate armor much too large for his own arm. At the same time, his little hands clutched a rag and a small container. Though he looked back up at him with his usual solemn face, a hint of excitement could be sensed from him. The green haired man grunted and moved to let the boy pass.

With his treasure in his arms, he ran to a normally quiet corner of the labs and sat down on a footstool. He opened the container of polish and put a little on the rag. Beaming with pride, he smiled slightly as he rubbed the ancient metal plates to bring out their full beauty.

"Young Dragon," the scientist, having just remembered something, called to him, "Come here a moment."

The little ninja set the armor down on a table and ran to see what the doctor wanted.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hmmm..."

Uriko tried to wipe the grit from her eyes, which still wanted to stay shut and groaned. She shifted her position and stretched slightly before finally sitting up in bed. Scattered over the rumpled sheets were green leaves.

"Good grief..." she sighed while sliding out of the covers. The girl donned a thick robe over her slip and stepped out of her bedroom, where the prince was there to greet her. "My, you're up early," he cooed. 

"Good morning, Cronos." She slid into her chair at the table, to where a plate was brought for her. The food did nothing for her appetite and was merely something to poke around with a fork today. 

"Is something wrong, Kitten?" the prince asked. He then smiled and asked her, "Did you like last night? I bet you weren't expecting dinner for two on the rooftop, hm?"

She nodded slightly and managed to bring a morsel past her lips. 

"It was great," she whispered, her eyes straying away from him. The prince got up from his chair and walked over to her so he could brush back her brown hair and give her forehead a delicate kiss. "You're free to thank me anytime, if you wish..." he purred, sending a wave of guilt through her.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Kitten?"

"N... nothing... Umm... Cronos? Do you know Ke- erm, Young Dragon?"

Still beaming, he replied, "The young heir? I've known him for years!"

"Well, he's be- I mean," Uriko nervously stuttered, "I've heard he's been acting very strange lately"

"That child is always strange" Cronos sighed, shaking his head. His expression wavered slightly, but he still kept his smile, as he was thinking of his love.

"Well, he goes missing and then he just pops up and starts, um, being all strange, you know? He gets a completely different personality."

"Interesting... So, Kitten, why are you concerned with the likes of him? The ninja do not normally go near the experiments."

"Well, before that old pervert got to me, I was living in the ninja's quarters, so... I kind of bumped into him."

The prince stirred his food with his fork. "And you are concerned for him... He does attract pity very well, doesn't he?"

She let out a heavy sigh. "I... I guess..."

~~~~~~~~~

Marvel yawned with a wide-open mouth and blinked away a small tear of sleepiness. She was going through document after document, searching for a way and a reason to bring down the enemy of her father's division of the police once and for all. Although the experiments were secret to most people, the police were well aware of the atrocities that went on. Unfortunately, for every accusation, Tylon managed to come up with some way to disprove what little evidence they had other than some eyewitnesses who had to remain anonymous for the sakes of their lives or they had some reason their labs could not allow inspectors. They assured the public their facilities were not the barbaric and extinct labs people automatically assumed they were, but no reporter or inspector was allowed within its doors.

"Well, it works for slaughterhouses..." Marvel grumbled. Her weary state immediately shot to alertness when she heard the doorknob turn. "Angel?" Gado called to her, "Are you in here?"

The woman hid the desk with her body and began hastily gathering the papers together. "Can't you knock?" she complained. Her attempt was futile.

"Sweetie, are you reading the top secret files again?"

"....No?"

"Honey..."

"You might think you're doing something by just sitting around, but I'm not going to let this go by unpunished!"

The old inspector let out a tired breath and averted his eyes. This was not the first time he had heard this outburst. 

"One of these days...." she growled, slamming one clenched into her palm, "Those Tylon freaks will taste my claws."

"Sweetheart, you know I-"

"'Don't want me involved.' It would do a little good if you got yourself involved! And you say you're fighting for these people!"

She shoved the papers into his arms and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. "For Pete's sake," she grumbled to herself,_ "_If those people were my partners and friends, those bastards would be long dead!"

The old inspector gazed at the door for a few seconds and let out a weary sigh. He knew he cared, especially after they assassinated his best partners, but what was he to do in the current situation?

Meanwhile, outside his door, the blonde looked over he shoulder and, when she was sure the coast was clear, she took out some of the papers she managed to smuggle out without his noticing. Marvel gave a pleased chuckle and hoped she could do something with these.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bright green eyes and little brown fingered peeked from the corner. He quietly crept into the room and gazed around at the cold blue metal and all the strange devices that filled these labs. Strictly speaking, he was not allowed to wander around the building, but he managed to slip by his nanny to sneak around and get a glimpse for himself. Not too long before, he and Ganesha had moved in for some strange reason. As far as little Cronos was concerned, his homeland was better by tenfold. He impatiently wondered when he would have a chance move back. This building did not accommodate children or royalty at all and much of it was off limits.

Well, there were no weird experiments or cut open people or animals here. Those scared his socks off. There seemed to just be equipment here, and blue, greens, and teals colored everything. This made the bright red and gold of something that lay on a table stand out even more. What was that?

He picked up the samurai-style armor and admired it. He had not seen something like this so close before. He looked around and smiled happily as he sprinted away with his find. It was so pretty he just had to take it. 

He was not quite paying attention to where he was going and he wound up almost running right into a populated area. He slunk back to where he could not be seen and wondered how he could get out of this mess. 

Outside this area was a lobby full of men and women in the typical dark suits of office workers. This quarter was like most of the Tylon complex. Cronos was allowed to run around the lobby here and the passers by noted his existence and greeted them, though many were unaware of just who he was. He saw his chance to cut through unnoticed if he were to run quickly enough and he zipped right down the center as all of their backs were turned. He ran right into a small garden, where, since nobody at this time had a moment to relax, there was not a person in sight.

Cronos, not familiar with the world in which these people lived, did not know this. He still ran, trying to not to be seen with his super secret find. It was far too special to show anyone. Besides, he did not want to explain to them how he came upon it.

In his haste, his foot hit a stone and he fell forward, right on front of the pond. His treasure flew out of his arms and, before he could get up, he heard a loud splash. When he peered into the pond to look for it, he only saw dark murky water, green algae, and the occasional white figure that must have been a fish. 

Cronos stared at the dark depths for a tense moment. All was silent and still as he registered what happened. Finally, he stood up and ran away with a speed he had never used before.

What if someone found out he had lost it? It occurred to him only now it must have belonged to someone. 

It probably was not all that important in the first place.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Some tea before you go?"

The rabbit accepted and the two of them sat down for a cup of the tea over which the Kenpo master spent many a day meditating. Yugo did not care for tea, and he was a little sick of the smell. He stood by the table and paced from time to time. It was a hard night sleeping on the floor (Alice had the privilege of sleeping on Long's humble bed and stone pillow, joy of joys). Now it was morning and it would not be time to wake up by the time the long subway ride was over. 

Alice, however, needed something to calm her nerves. Thoughts of Uriko and Tylon burned in her mind constantly.

"I can't even tell Mom about Tylon..." she sighed.

Long reminded her, "It would be a sure way to get the two of you killed."

"Uriko... I can't sit here and let this continue. There has to be something I can do about Uriko!"

"It's not like you're going to get anything done with Gado!" Yugo but in.

Long rose from his chair and slowly approached a small chest of drawers whose top served as kind of desk. He concentrated on a piece of paper and then finally took a pen and began to write.

"There is a young woman who goes by the nickname 'Marvel.' She is Gado's daughter, and she feels the same way you do. She, too, has lost faith in Alan Gado and she makes plans against Tylon of her own in secret."

He returned to the table and gently placed the paper in Alice's hand, his palm over hers and the other hand cradling it from underneath. "I have refused her pleas many times, but perhaps you may find an answer in her plots."

Alice had just then become cold marble, unsure of how to move or react in any way. Yugo, not liking the vibrations he was getting one bit, tugged at Alice's sleeve to signal the time to leave. The nurse, after barely whispering a farewell, stumbled out slowly, with unsure steps, in complete silence. Before Yugo himself left, he turned around to Long. 

"Look, I don't know what the deal is with you, but I do know Kenji has your eyes."

The man closed his eyes and solemnly nodded his head. Yugo did not know what to make of this response, if it was one at all. He simply left Long to stand there and continue to contemplate whatever it was those solemn types contemplated. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ganesha?" the prince chirped, "Did it come in yet?"

"Yes. I already unpacked it and hung it up," a reply came from the next room.

"Excellent," he replied, I can't wait to see it. I wonder why Father insisted nobody from Tylon see it..."

Cronos strolled into a bright red room heavily decorated with priceless reminders of his homeland. He had always loved his treasures, though he sometimes felt another piece could be added to them. When his father sent them something to add to the collection, the younger Cronos loved picking out the perfect place for it. Hung over the mantle place was its latest addition, a framed piece of an ancient silk robe. On top of the deep purple was embroidery in intense yellows, oranges, and reds, still vivid after the time's unforgiving trials. A gold shrine from a temple of ages past was shown surrounded by teardrop shaped flames. The fire, in the center, seemed to merge together in the center around the base of a form that rose from the fire.

He cocked his head and wondered what was so special about this picture. Something in it seemed reach out to him some how. The more he gazed into the story it attempted to tell, the brighter the room seemed to become and the warmer his body became. He did not notice this at first, since it was so gradual, but he did notice when the room burst into flame. He felt hot air rushing up against his face, blowing his hair back. Cronos' feet were rooted to the ground. He dared not move from his place. His head spun and his heart raced as the rest of his body started reeling from the force surrounding him. Was it trying to enter him? No, this power was rising up from inside of him. In his mind, he began to realize that his shaking hand might not be there if he looked at it soon.

"What do you think of it, prince?" Ganesha asked as he was passing by the room. He stalled at the lack of a response.

"Prince Cronos?" 

The young man dropped to his knees and clutched at his heaving chest. His bodyguard rushed to his aid and helped him up. He was panting heavily and sweat dripped off his face. 

"Prince, you feel feverish. Perhaps..."

"I'm fine!" He curtly snapped at him. Cronos immediately turned and walked away from him with somewhat shaky steps. He had to stop at the door and lean on the frame for a second or two.

"Prince..."

"It's nothing!" He yelled once more, averting his gaze. Ganesha looked back at the room. It looked perfectly normal, and the new piece was a harmless work of embroidery.

"Did Busuzima give you an injection lately?"

"Yeah, I guess that was it," he whispered, "That bastard's shit's been getting worse and worse... I don't see why Uriko wants to wander around the labs with Dr. Sonofabitch on the prowl-"

"Prince?" Ganesha questioned upon seeing Cronos suddenly freeze up for a moment. A sudden realization had come upon him and he stayed still a moment in thought as two and two came together in his head. 

__

Ryu was interested in some girl who was staying in their quarters for an unknown reason. Kitten came to me, and shortly after Ryu is all sad because the girl has left. Kitten says she was living in the ninja's quarters... and she's curious about Ryu... Oh, shit...

"Well, he wouldn't know what to do with her anyway!" he declared triumphantly all of a sudden.

"Erm..."

"Oh, I am fine! Yes, that child... wouldn't..." he paused, the enthusiasm in his voice fading.

"...."

Cronos immediately set off to the labs. "I... just have to go for a little walk..." he said, "It's nothing important."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The boy trembled. "I... I don't know where it is..."

"You lost it," his Master rephrased for him.

"It... disappeared... I just set it down and..."

"You lost it."

"I lost it. Please forgive me."

Bakuryu narrowed his eyes. "Such a crime," he told him, "cannot go unpunished. It would betray generations past and generations to come. To let this pass goes against all tradition. You want me to forgive you?"

"I'm sorry. I know I have no right to betray tradition," he whispered.

"Our colors... you dare to come to me wearing those..."

The boy clutched at his gi and looked up with panicked eyes. "Master? N-no! Please!"

"Are you pleading? I thought my former heir was higher than that."

"Master, I'm not pleading!" he cried. A choked tone tempted to enter his voice.

"You annoy me. Must you force me to acknowledge you?"

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out before quickly shutting himself up and cursing himself silently.

"Well? Get rid of those clothes and leave this place before somebody sees you. There is only one other home for a child like you around here."

~~~

The prince hummed to himself as he went through another lab excursion. In his hand was a bag of chocolates swiped from a box Ganesha had just bought. He popped one into his mouth occasionally. He spotted a familiar form of someone he had met not long ago. He was huddled up inside the first of a row of new and still unused cells. Cronos wondered why he was wearing an experiment's gown. The door was open, so he hopped up into the chamber.

"Ryu!"

"Please... I cannot be called that."

"Hm? Why?"

"If I go by any name that alludes to the time when... when I was..."

Cronos looked at him curiously as he cycled through many cut-off beginnings and finally stopped at, "The period of my life before three days ago."

".... You mean when you were a ninja?" The dark-haired child shut his eyes, as if in pain, and then finally breathed, "Yes. It would shame them."

"I don't get it," Cronos admitted. The shamed boy looked downwards with his long-broken heart and gave no reply.

"Well, Ryu is a boy's name. By itself, it doesn't have anything to do with ninja."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Besides, I'm the prince Cronos. I'll call you whatever I want," he explained, biting into a chocolate, "Ick, coconut! Here, Ryu, want a chocolate?"

He stared at the half eaten chocolate in his hand. "You... would give me a treat? I can't eat this. It would shame-"

"Oh, shut up! Besides, it's coconut."

"What's a coconut? Is it bad?"

"It's nasty in chocolates."

"I see," he said before eating it.

"So, Ryu, why are you suddenly an experiment?"

His expression became very troubled. "I... I lost something very important. It was very old and important."

"Oh really?" the Prince asked through a partially chewed chocolate without thinking about any old or important items he might have encountered at some point, "Losing stuff stinks."

"It was really, really important... and I lost it..." 

"Hmm... So he kicked you out?"

"...Yes. Now I'm where I belong."

"Hm" Cronos sighed, still thinking this was all strange, "Why isn't your cage locked?"

"Doctor says I don't need it... But it only makes things worse..."

"Why's that?"

"It puts me above the other experiments."

The prince cocked an eyebrow and stared at him before finally coming to a conclusion.

"You're weird!" he yelled.

Ryu sighed, holding his legs more tightly against his chest. "But Doctor also has me do chores for him, so it's not so bad this way."

"Maybe if I work hard..." he started to say, but then he quickly stopped himself.

"Eh? If you work hard what?"

"Nothing. I said nothing."

"I'm sick of this. As the prince, I order you to tell me what you were saying!"

"I'm sorry. I was saying that... I've been thinking that maybe... if I worked hard and I was obedient to the doctor as I was to, um, my former master, then, maybe..."

He looked around and then turned his face completely towards the floor in embarrassment before whispering the rest.

"Then maybe... perhaps... Master might not hate me anymore?"

Cronos scratched his head. "So? That makes sense"

Ryu looked up at him hopefully. "You really think so?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, Father pardons prisoners who show good behavior. I guess your master would decide kicking you out wasn't such a good idea if he sees the only thing wrong was the fact you lost something."

" I never thought of it that way Thank you."

Cronos sighed and told him once again, "You're really weird"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There is my prey, he chuckled to himself. Below him, the girl was innocently looking over a terrace. He gave a slight grin before tossing a nearly undetectable smoke bomb in her direction so he could show up in a shower of leaves. He created the allusion of appearing from out of nowhere and he wrapped his arms around her from behind, letting her only see the swirl of green. It was his favorite trick.

The ninja lightly kissed the back of her neck. "Ah, you're so soft..." he purred as he nuzzled her, "You're all I desire and all my desires are you."

"Kenji, cut that out," the Uriko moaned. The ninja ignored her and nibbled at her skin. "I don't care about anything... So long as I can have you, nothing matters to me."

"Kenji, can't you see this is the last thing on my mind? I'm a prisoner in this awful place and you want me to go along with this? You're acting really weird and you want me to go along with this?"

"We're all prisoners. What's important is if you actually give a damn or not... I don't care. Why should you?"

Uriko pushed him away and spun around in anger. "What do you mean you don't care?" she yelled, "How can you not care that I might never see my family again or that all these people are suffering?"

His only reply was, "Caring about anything or anybody leads nowhere."

"Do you care about me, then? What do you want?"

The youth stalled a moment, slightly taken aback. He blinked his golden eyes and questioned himself for a fleeting moment. A familiar voice, very faint now, was beginning to be heard once more. _So you were so sure this would work? I thought we were smarter than this._

Shut up, he mentally hissed at it, you think you know everything...

"Uriko?!"

"Cronos!" the girl yelped, "It I uh"

The prince stared in disbelief from the hall. "Kitten...?"

Bakuryu glared back at him. Cronos called out, "How long has this been going on?"

Uriko tried to say something, but Bakuryu yelled over her voice, "I've owned her before you gaze ever touched her. She doesn't want you."

"So why does she look so distressed?"

"She is repulsed by the sight of you."

Cronos angrily marched nearer, challenging, "I don't know who you are, but you'd better watch your tone around me." The response was "Feh. I do what I want."

The Prince glared at him and then noticed that his fears were, indeed, realized. Though his stance and expression were very different, the face belonged to the Young Dragon. "Ryu?" he questioned this stranger, "What's gotten into you?"

"I do not think this is a question of something getting into him," a voice interrupted. From another hallway they could see the elder Master Bakuryu. He stepped into the light and continued, "I fear this evil is coming from inside of him."

Ignoring him, Cronos pleaded to his love, "Uriko, why are you with him?" 

"I wasn't doing anything! He just keeps popping out of nowhere!" she yelled back. The grip on her tightened violently. "So you never wanted me from the start?" Kenji hissed.

"No!"

"So you never had feelings for me, Kitten?"

"That's not true-"

"Little girl..." the ninja growled menacingly while holding her so he started to hurt her, "Tell him how close we are and how you hate him." Uriko whimpered and then squirmed out of his grip. "Nobody who loved me would treat me like that!" she argued.

Cronos agreed wholeheartedly. "That's right," he pouted, gently taking her shoulders in his hands. Uriko was not planning on this happening. She looked back at Kenji, who looked almost shocked and even betrayed by this. A familiar pang of guilt hit her. She wanted to get out of Cronos' gentle caress and tell him it was not like that, but she could not bring herself to do so. 

The pitiful hint in his expression soon faded into rage.

"Getting emotional, are we?" the master reminded his heir. He whipped his head around to the old ninja.

"How shameful, getting into such arguments and such messes... And while wearing our colors and our heirloom, at that..."

At this, the younger started to tremble. Uriko wondered if he looked scared now. Inside his head, he could hear that returning voice chide him in contempt, _And you thought you had killed the child?_ He then, in a sudden fury, ripped the plate armor from his arm and hurled it against the wall. The sound of crashing metal plates echoed throughout the labs.

"I hate you," he hissed. The elder's eyes widened. 

The youth continued to growl, "I hate you all..."

He turned around and pointed a single finger at the girl and whispered in a voice just as violent, "And you... You _will _be mine." She shrunk back without thinking into the other young man's bronze arms, and he held her defensively, yet still very gently.

He took a step back and then he ran to the balcony overlooking the lab and leapt off. Pulling his arms toward his chest, he spun one revolution before a smoke bomb set off. All that was left of him were lightly fluttering leaves.

Uriko ran from Crono's grasp to the railing and called out for him.

"Kenji!"

Cronos looked out at the familiar leaves that had mysteriously shown up around him in the past few days. He whispered that a new fiend had entered Tylon Laboratories.

Bakuryu, familiar with disappearing acts, stared at exactly where his unruly heir was treading undetected. He then turned to the young lady, who had collapsed over the railing in frustration and confusion, which tempted her eyes to weep.


	19. Slight Recuperation

Chapter 19: Slight Recuperation

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I curse the day I accepted this job," a young scientists sighed under his breath as he prepared a blood sample. Though he had little experience with what went on the bowls of the labs, anyone who worked in the top secret building knew very well their efforts contributed to the suffering of the humans they rarely saw. One in Doctor Unus' rank would need to throw away his heart to accept a promotion, for this was the time before the dog days of the recession when Tylon's experiments peaked.

"Isn't it ready yet?"

"Almost, Dr. Busuzima," he answered. He gently lay a slide cover over the miniscule treated droplet of blood and began to take it to the head scientist.

A small, haunting voice caught him off guard and caused him to drop the slide. He turned into ice, hearing what sounded like a ghost whisper, "Bu... su... zi... ma..." Solus Unus stopped being stone and he ever so slowly turned around to meet his fate and join the victims of Tylon's resident ghost. His eyes met with a dull-eyed child in a bloodstained white slip. Solus took a step back from the cadaverous youth, thinking he was, perhaps, a different legend who haunted the labs. 

Busuzima, fed up with waiting, stormed toward the younger scientist. "Where is that sample, Unus?" he demanded. With a shaky finger, Solus pointed to the child. "Eh? What're you doing here, Dragon Brat?" he asked, annoyed. 

"Busuzima... Your payment is late..."

"What are you babbling about, Dragon Brat?"

"What you do them... what you did to me... what you did to _her... _Those charges come with a price."

"Now, you're not making any-- Erk!!" The green haired man only just now had spotted the large, round openings in his neck, the sources of the streams of blood that ran down him.

With a strict hiss, he ordered Solus Unus to leave, which he did with much haste. He turned to the little messenger and said with no guilt, "I'm not responsible for what happened to your precious lovergirl. My hands are clean of her actions."

"You knew this would happen," the child gasped between desperate breaths for air, "Monster... You knew all this would happen. You planned it all. Because of what you did, I'll never leave you. My room will remain empty and you and all of you freaks will keep your noses out of my business... And you will leave the payments for me at the end of the month... And if you don't... I can always feed on your scientists, and when they are gone, I'll feed on you."

With those last words, the boy fell limply to the floor. Busuzima let out a quick breath of air. He looked at the bloody form on the floor and gently nudged it with his foot, careful not to stain his new sandals, to turn the child over so he was lying on his back. Surely enough, he was still breathing.

"'E's Pretty much done for," he mumbled, "That's a lot of blood to replace, and he's kind of useless, as he refuses to use any ninja skillz..."

Just then, he could have sworn he felt a draft raise the hairs on the back of his neck, and a leaf gently fluttered past his shoulder. It danced in the air briefly, and then came to rest on the boy's body. He gulped.

"Then again," he said loudly while scooping him up, "He's obedient and whatnot... I'd, um, better give him a blood transfusion... yup..."

As he carried the former ninja heir away, he mumbled under his breath, "If it isn't one pair of all-seeing eyes, it's the other. I'm supposed to be the boss around here..."

~~~~~~~

The red-eyed child loomed over the sleeping form and nudged him. He sat on his chest and began to open Ryu's eyes for him. He moaned and woke up to find himself in a small bed with IVs in his arm, one connected to a slowly emptying bag of blood and the other connected to water to keep him from dehydrating. The other boy did not care; he shoved the cat dancer in his mouth into Ryu's face. "Shen," he groaned, "I don't think I can play now..."

Shen pouted and then socked Ryu in the face. "Okay... Okay..." he sighed. The manmade child bounded off the bed, sprouting a white striped tail along with ears and claws. Ryu took the piece of wire by one end and wearily hung his arm over the side of the bed to make the cluster of cardboard on the other end dance and flutter like a butterfly on front of the little tiger's crimson eyes. He pounced on his fake prey and chewed on it in his mouth before letting it go to catch it again.

"Psst... Ryu!" another small voice whispered, "It's me!"

"Cronos..?"

"Yeah," he grinned, tiptoeing through the door, "If Ganesha sees me out now, I'm in biiiig trouble. He keeps on saying it's dangerous ever since he lost some stupid parchment... Oh, hi, Bitey! I didn't see you there!"

"Bitey" stopped playing at once and glared at him, growling. The prince ignored him entirely. "I heard _he _got you, Ryu. What happened?"

"I don't remember much," he whispered so only he could hear, "I just remember that it was night and I felt him moving, so I stayed completely still. He grabbed me from behind, picked me up, and then bit me. After that, it's all a blank... But I think I heard a lot of whispering..."

"Creepy... So you don't remember freaking out Dr. Unus?"

"Dr. Unus?"

"Yeah! He was telling everyone about the the creepy little kid. He said you looked possessed. I guess that guy nearly drank you dry so he could hypnotize you. You almost died!"

Shen stood up and said matter-of-factly, "Ryu can't die. He's my caretaker."

Cronos blinked. "Hey, you can talk!"

"Shen was programmed with speech last week," the ex-ninja informed them, "They also aged him a little."

"Now that you mention it, he does look a little older," he noted before walking up to Shen. "So, I guess now you can communicate a bit more normally now, right Bitey? Ouch! He bit me again! What's your problem, y'little shit?"

"Shenlong, please behave," Ryu pleaded in vain from under the covers. Shen's chin-length hair flew back when he lunged forward to engage in one of many all-too-frequent scraps with the prince.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cronos impatiently paced back and forth on front of the couch where Uriko nervously sat. His head bowed and his face in a stern grimace, he tread so that he might have eventually worn a hole in the rug. Uriko's mind raced and her insides curdled with apprehension.

"Uriko," Cronos finally asked, "How long has this been happening? How long has he been like this?"

"For the past few days he's been different. I don't know what did this to him."

"So... He shows his true colors when jealousy strikes him," Cronos declared, "I never thought I'd see such foul actions from that boy."

Uriko looked downwards. Was she really the cause of his sudden change? She was so distressed over the sudden disappearance of the shy boy she knew. She wanted him back so badly. Taking care of him and teaching him made her feel so warm inside. Who was this rude and angry Bakuryu in his body who was so focused on her? 

Was Kenji that focused on her? 

True, he had barely known her. Had he felt strongly for her in such a short time that it changed him? 

"Kenji," she whispered to herself, now desperately wishing to do something for him. She was paying no attention to Cronos, who was now standing kneeling directly on front of her. He placed a hand on her head and leaned forward a kiss. His love moved her head back to avoid the contact. He cooed, "Sweet Uriko, do you love me?"

She stared back at him, completely silent. She could not allow any word to escape her mouth.

".... Kitten...." He sighed sadly, "You've been with him while back was turned?"

"No!"

Cronos stood with a hurt look on his face. "I know I should not trust a woman who even so much as appears to be unfaithful... But I know you are genuine, my kitten. You are confused because of him... and it is up to me to set things right," he declared as he moved to head for the door. Uriko lunged forward.

"Cronos!" she exclaimed, extending one hand.

The prince turned around once more to her and asked, "That creep... doesn't have your heart, does he?"

"No," she told him. The young man smiled slightly and left. Uriko clutched at her chest and felt her insides protest. No, she told herself, she had no love for whatever now possessed him that called itself Bakuryu, but she now clearly saw that her heart ached for the reluctant ninja.

~~~~~~~~~~

_So what are you going to do now?_

"Shut up," Bakuryu whispered with a quick jerk of his head. His arms crossed, he hunched over as he sat on a beam hidden in the shadows of pipes and supports high above the floor. He loomed over what he felt to be his territory and tried to banish the voice from his mind.

That wench will pay, his mind growled.

_Oh? You want to harm her?_

He answered, She led me on. That girl has the nerve to refuse me and she choose that stupid prince over me.

_So you hate her._

The killer's gaze faltered a moment. No... no I don't, he quickly thought as his thoughts raced for a second.

_But did you not declare you hate everyone?_

"Shut up!" he began to say aloud, "She's... different."

_You're different._

"Shut up!"

_I can't. Anyway, what are you going to do? _

I'm going to take her, of course.

_How? It's clear you don't know what you're doing._

I won't let her get away this time.

_So you remember? Or maybe you still only know hate and deception?_

I want her.

_Why?_

I... I just do...

His gaze lowered and his tensed muscled began to relax. He wanted that girl for his own so badly. A small bit of warmth grew in his chest and he wondered what it meant.

Then, he heard footstep from underneath him. _"You,"_ he hissed before descending from his perch. With almost no sound at all, he appeared right on front of the prince. Cronos took a step back, but he tried to contain his surprise and hide it behind a cool posture. "I've been looking for you," he told him.

"What do you want?" Bakuryu responded curtly, shifting his weight on his back leg to give himself a somewhat more lithe and slinky appearance. He ran one hand through his hair, which once again stood atop his head. Now, the locks were tamed so they framed his face and leaned towards the back of his head. He had now completely rejected the colors of his clan, and he instead chose to wear black, deep blue, and blood red. Much more brief armor with a burnt yellow tint decorated his left shoulder, arms, and shins. It also made up the elaborate belt at his waist, adorned with a dragon's toothed mouth. Tight black spandex hugged his chest, showing off every one of the lean, yet very well toned muscles underneath. He once again wore a long red scarf loosely wrapped around his neck with a long section trailing behind him. 

He merely narrowed his eyes and calmly started, "You stupid, spoiled, undeserving, conceited, over dramatic, flamboyant..."

"What?! Hey, I thought we were friends, Ryu!"

"Be quiet. You are an obstacle," he muttered, raising a paw of gleaming claws. Cronos barely registered the assault. He merely leaned back a little and the attack penetrated him and he heard Uriko's voice shriek the name, "Kenji!"

The sound, catching him off guard, had caused the ninja to merely draw shallow gashes across his chest. Cronos hissed in pain. 

"Uriko?" the two of them called. The prince had not realized she had followed him. "Kitten," he cried, "It's not safe here!"

"Kenji, what are you doing?"

"Uriko... Look what you made me do..." he whispered, changing his paw back into a bloodstained human hand, "I didn't kill him."

"K-kill?!" Cronos stuttered, "What the hell? You're my friend!"

Uriko grabbed his wrist to pull him towards her. "I thought you said you didn't like killing!" He roughly tugged his hand from her grasp and lightly painted his face with the red on his fingertips. A light grin curled his lips. "The sight of blood," he sighed, "Excites me..."

~~~~~~~~~

_Fox senses tingling!_

The assassin stood abruptly, slamming his palms on the table. "Someone is stealing my lines!"

~~~~~~~~~

Uriko and Cronos both stared at him. "What did you say?"

He grinned slyly. "I'm dangerous, kitty cat..." he purred with a sexy gleam in his eye. 

"Wha... Excuse me, but I'm the only one who does the cat-related nicknames!" Cronos complained, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Now listen here," the other male started to say, but he was cut off by a cry of "There he is!"

Standing in the doorway were Shenlong and the man who had assaulted Kenji and Uriko the night they became lost. "Shit..." the brown-haired boy hissed. The two men marched up to the boy and snatched him up by the arms. Shenlong took a quick whiff and declared, "So _you've _been stealing my hair oil!"

"And that's my mascara!" the blond cried.

"And _I'm _the one who does the psycho bloody face paint!"

"No, that's my act," Fox objected.

"No, it's mine!"

"The sight of blood excites _me, _you dimwit!"

"Whatever. The point is, _he _stole it!"

"That's right! We have to teach him a lesson."

The ninja looked at the two of them frantically and then began a desperate struggle to try and squirm out of their grasps, but they managed to restrain the fish out of water. The two of them dragged him, kicking and wriggling like a trapped animal, out the door to an area unknown.

Uriko blinked in confusion and then started to follow. Cronos lightly grabbed her arm to stop her. She looked at the door way, and then at his face. She stayed in silence and stillness for a moment, and then broke away from him to run to Kenji.

The girl sped through hallways, following the noises of confrontation. Shouts and footsteps became much more increasingly louder just before she saw the captive running right in her direction. He looked up at her and barely stopped a second in snatching her up by the waist. Shenlong and Fox burst into the hallway too see nothing and hear only a slight yelp, the only sign of anyone ever being there.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Uurrgh!"

Marvel growled her frustration and silent obscenities at the rude interruption of her concentration. Practically knocking the table over, she violently rose from her seat and stormed towards the door with such force that the neighbors downstairs would think a three hundred pound man had recently moved in. "What do you want?" she roared. Two seconds later came a meek and barely audible, "Um... I guess Miss Gado isn't home. Let's go..." Another voice pestered, "Yugo, I'm not leaving until I get some info, understand?"

"Yeah... yeah..."

Marvel opened the door a crack and hissed, "Look, I'm really busy right now, so if you don't mind... Scram!"

Alice stepped forward and pushed the door, fighting the stronger woman's hold, so it would open further. "Just a minute! Mr. Long didn't send us all the way here just to-" She had been cut off by the sudden presence of Marvel's hand clasped over her mouth.

"You fool! Don't you know the walls have ears?" the woman growled, "Come in before you say something you'll regret." She rushed the two of them in and raced on front of them before they could explore any of her apartment. "So... You say a 'Mr. Long' sent you? Who is this 'Long?' Can you prove this?"

Alice dug into her pocket and retrieved the slip of paper Long had given them. Not only did it have Marvel's address, but a short message indecipherable to Alice and her partner. Jannu snorted and, with a small smile on her face, read aloud, "Tigers do not sire puppy-dogs." She laughed and stored it away in her own pocket. "How sweet," she chuckled sarcastically, "That's Long for you. So... What's your story?"

The two introduced themselves to her and explained their problems, to which she openly expressed her frustration with Long's stubbornness whenever she asked his support for her cause. "Oooh, he really pisses me off!" she hissed through tightly clenched teeth, "Dad... Long... I can't get anything done around here with those thick-headed muscle-packed weirdoes." She thrust a fist into the wall, adding to the impressive collection of cracks already in the dingy paint.

Both Yugo and Alice let out a quick "Eeep" before taking a cautious step back. Marvel, gripping her fist in an open palm, turned and gave Yugo a dark look. "You're not a thick-headed muscle-packed weirdo, are you? 'cause you look like the rest of 'em." Yugo shook his head in the negative with such force that he might have given himself whiplash.

"Wait a minute... Ohgami? You're Yuji Ohgami's son, aren't you?"

Yugo nodded and Marvel continued to say, "Do you remember me? Daddy used to bring me to your house all the time when Mr. Ohgami was still alive."

Yugo looked up to the ceiling for a moment and sighed, "I was pretty young back then... Say, I do remember Pop ditching me with you while he and Gado did stuff... I remember! You had that poofy pink dress and that long curly hair tied up in that great big bow-"

"It must have been a different girl," she interrupted in a grim and commanding voice.

"You kept on killing Loopy with Mr. Bear..." he whined.

"Loopy was weak."

"Could we get to the point, you two?" Alice reminded them.

"Right." She motioned towards the table she had been hiding from their view and explained, "To make a long story short, Tylon is pretty much protected in one way or another against most of the claims we can make against them. Also, we don't know much about the actual complex. To get Tylon with the law or with some sort of attack would require inside info, which is rather hard to come by."

Alice strolled over to the desk and started to flip through the multicolored pile to get a look at them for herself while the other woman explained the situation in a little more detail. Most of them might as well have been in a completely different language. Deciding she could try to make some sense out of them later, she decided to skip them. Her eyes then fell on something completely different that looked like a picture out of a history textbook. Instead of yet another document printed on goldenrod or puce paper, this was a thick sheet of parchment worn by the ages. "To my grandson as he nears manhood and the throne," she whispered to herself before taking a quick glance at the date, which told her the young grandson must have had grandchildren of his own by now, and then continuing, "I fear our legend will be lost in these changing times, so hide this well and pass it on to your own son as he matures, whether or not there is still a Calminjina then..."

"Calminjina?" Alice wondered aloud. "That used to be United Nation of Zoanthropes way back when," the blonde told her, "Of course, the country is still mostly unknown. It used to be the zoanthropes' best kept secret for most of history. Don't ask me about it now, though. We can barely get any news, good or bad, whatsoever dealing with that place. Tylon has kept the crown prince, one of my connections, here most of his life, so even he can't tell me."

"Do you think this could be important?" Alice asked her.

"It's just a lot o' superstition if you ask me. Too vague for my taste. Something about the crown prince's inheritance and lots of magicy shit... or something... Anyway, if you two want to help anybody, there's plenty of brainstorming and researching to do. I was preferring someone with connections, but you two are better than nothing, I guess. I'll see if we can get more info."

"Is it three allready?!" Yugo yelped when he finally saw a clock, "I have a match today! I'd better leave you two before my manager bites my head off..."

Both of their attentions were caught by the stereotypical sound of the readying of a firearm. Marvel seemed to pull a semi-automatic weapon from nowhere. "You're not going anywhere with what you know. I suggest you make yourselves comfortable."

~~~~~~~~~~

She had held her eyes shut most of the ride, only opening them to see blurring colors of scenery flying past. Finally, the ride stopped, and she was retrieved from underneath the ninja's arm and placed on cold, dusty metal. When Uriko put her arms on the "floor" for support, she found she was seated on a beam barely wider than she was. She backed up against the wall, realizing there was little place to run, unless she wanted to jump off and kill herself.

"Kenji..." she whined.

"Bakuryu," he corrected in an annoyed tone. Despite the lack of light, Uriko managed to make out a forming black eye and scattered scuff marks on his face. He advanced on her, crawling on top of her so his face was just above hers.

"Why do you insist on putting me in this position?" Uriko squeaked as he shifted his weight so he was on top of her. He gripped the sides of her arms and she turned her head away and cringed.

"Just get it over with, okay?"

Instead, he shifted his weight uneasily, but did nothing else for next few seconds. Uriko turned back to him to find a very frustrated face. "Umm... Aren't you going to pin me down and ravish me... or something?" she asked in a sheepish tone. He completely caught her off guard when he suddenly forced her flat against the beam with his body. He cupped her left cheek in his right hand and whispered, "What do you want from me?"

"I'd like you stop being an idiot!" she blurted out in anger before being reprimanded with a strike across the face.

"No! You want something from me, just as I want something from you."

She glared at him nervously.

"You... you... I'm drawn to you. As the summer bugs fly into fire, I inevitably shall be killed by you."

"Woah, who's killing who here?"

He gazed into her eyes with a sad look in his own. "If I can't have you... I'll die... You won't let me have you, so I..."

"Please!" she laughed, "You're not going to _die _if you don't have your way with me!"

"My mind... I'll lose my mind completely..."

She nearly made a quick comment about him already being insane, but she stopped herself and stared into his face a moment. Was she, by any chance, looking at the Young Dragon, or, perhaps, Kenji? 

Whoever he was, the then proceeded to wrap his arms around her and rest his head over her shoulder. "I need you," he whispered into her ear, "Because I'll die without you."

"... Kenji...?"

The gentle caress of long ago immediately returned to the harsh grip she had known recently. The sadness in his voice melted back to anger. "Bakuryu," he firmly told her, "My name is Bakuryu."

"Is Kenji dead then?" she demanded, "Because there _is_ something I want from you, and that's Kenji!"

"You just want to use him," Bakuryu insisted.

"If you're so sure that's all I do, then why do you want me?"

He averted his eyes and said nothing. Uriko placed one hand on his shoulder. "Kenji," she told him, "I think we both know this isn't the way it's supposed to work. We need to stick together the way we used to."

His gaze softened noticably. "The way we... used to..." he repeated.

Uriko nodded slowly with a gentle smile on her face. She strained to be as soothing as possible, and she could see the fiery Bakuryu peeling away to reveal bits and pieces of the boy she and Yugo had come to know and love.

He looked down with an upset look in his eyes and firmly stated, "I don't want to be controlled anymore."

Uriko chirped, "You don't have to if you really don't want to." Smiling sweetly, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in so his head lightly nuzzled her just over her heart. _I must be nuts, _Uriko chuckled to herself as she stroked his hair, _Then again, it feels rather nice_ The other teenager liked this act and he moved in closer, clutching at her shirt like a small child with tightly clenched fists.

"We need to get out of here," she sighed.

"There is no way to leave Tylon."

"There's gotta be a way. We'll find it, and we'll leave together."

Looking up at her, he whispered, "Promise?"

"Yeah, it's our promise..."

"Just the two of us?"

Uriko fell silent and the ninja looked at her curiously. She explained, "I suppose it's the only way anybody would get out alive... You know, I think Cronos has been up to something..."

"Cronos," he growled, the fire returning to his eyes. The girl became worried when she saw that familiar rage.

"No... The two of us. Only us," he ordered before snatching her up by her waist once more and beginning another flight. This time, it was very short and she could feel it was headed right the floor beneath their perch. It took Uriko a few clenched up moments before she could regain her posture. "Kenji!" she scolded, but he was nowhere to be seen. She took a quick look around from where she sat to find a barely lit section of the lab very unfamiliar to her. In the dark, she could make out strange pieces of equipment, both large and small, haphazardly placed in random locations. This place was, in short, a mess. 

"Kenji...?" she called out quietly. She found it very difficult to get herself to raise her voice, for she felt she was being watched. Unless her mind was playing tricks on her, she could have sworn she heard a voice. Taking hesitant steps, Uriko took a quick look around while she told herself she was trying to find a way out without getting herself into a mess. If she ever had disbelief in vibrations, any doubt was now shattered, as she could feel something pulling her in despite her instincts' protests. Something was calling to her, telling her to come closer still.

She finally came to some sort of wall, if it could be called such, that looked like pipes, bars, and metal refuse compacted into a barrier that bowed outwards. Without thinking, her hand reached out to touch it. 

A wave, like a sudden electric current, passed through her. She immediately pulled away her fingers before they actually made contact. Something felt frighteningly powerful and also very familiar somehow. She did not like this at all. She finally let her sense take over to let herself run. She did not even stop to think what passages might lead where; she just wanted to get back "home," as she was starting to think of Cronos' place and parts of the labs. Her mind went further than that and she thought of the Clan of the Soil and Kenji, and then Big Brother Yugo's apartment, and then her own home, which now seemed so foreign. A part of her hoped that when she stopped running, she would be back in her own room, with school books and clothes scattered all over the floor, and with a furry little rodent waiting for her.

~~~~~~~~~~

"He took her away!" he cried, "He took my kitten!"

The image of Shina in the tiny screen of his cellular phone looked particularly annoyed. "Prince... back to the subject..."

"I've been too lazy... I haven't put my claim on her... Yes, that's what I need to do..."

"Earth to Cronos..."

"Huh?" the prince voiced, "Were you talking about something important?"

She heaved a huge sigh. "Nothing..." she breathed. Meanwhile, in the edge of the screen behind her, a face was trying to be shown.

"Help! She's holding us at gunpoint!" a scarred man managed to yell into the camera.

Cronos blinked at seeing her turn her head and yell, "Shaddup and get back in yer seats..."


	20. Something In The Air

I can't believe I actually started writing this again.

Ugh, and this fic is so damn embarrassing, especially at the beginning.

Well, if you folks enjoy itI hope you don't get disappointed after so much anticipation

Ummm I stole the lounge from Pixar and I made it creepier.

Oh, and I really don't know much about shame and rituals and suchbut this is an alternate universe, so there.

I had all these problems with Word, so I wrote the latter half in HTML form, so there might be a lotta typos I missed.

Chapter 20:

Something In The Air

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Once more, the lab had become a place of play for the prince. It was perhaps the environment least fit for royalty, and making it into one was most likely the only way to cope. Prince Cronos adapted well. His innate knowledge that he was inherently above all others, combined with his immunity to most of the horrors of Tylon's labs, allowed him to distance himself from gruesome reality the way many princes do. Added to this was a new experience of not being the boss and being out of control of certain ways, along with limits and certain horrors to which he was not immune. This gave labs an air of excitement he could not resist when he managed to sneak in, which was quite often after he had taught himself the basics of stealth. Of course, he would have loved to pick up some tips from a certain someone, but he was so shamed that he did not even want to hint that he used to be ninja. It was a pity, since he probably would not have been seeing him and interacting with him so much if he had not been shamed and put into a kind of exile. That child was easiest to bend with his status, but he could not ever get him to perform what he felt was a betrayal to his own clan.

However, one particularly pugnacious child never treated him like the royalty he was. Then again, he probably did not even know what royalty was (or care, for that matter). Ever since their first meeting, since his "birth," even, there was an obvious mean streak in him, one that made him irresistible to tease, no matter how many times he bit him.

And now, he was teasing him again, and unknowingly teasing the glaring imprisoned experiments as well as he ran past them. In one hand he held a little orange and black puff of polyester up high above his head while another child ran on him on four white paws while a striped tail fluttered behind him. 

His feet screeched against the floor as he made a sharp turn towards the stairs to a lower level, but the lead he held was cut short as he slipped on something liquid and warm and tumbled down the steps, rolling in more of the stuff.

Something smelled foul and he ached all over. He looked at himself. It was blood. He panicked. "Ga GANESHA! I'm _bleeding!"_ he shrieked and he broke into a crying fit. The feline peered at him from the top of the steps and curiously sniffed at the red pools. "Ryu?" he voiced. He pounced down the stairs and bat Cronos on the head. "Ryu's hurt!" he told him. The shamed boy had unofficially become the red-eyed child's caretaker and, as far as he was concerned, it was impossible for his caretaker to die. He would not allow it, despite the fact that he himself bit the hand that fed him repeatedly.

"I hit my head!"

"Ryu's in trouble," was all he said with a very straight face.

Before either of them could say anything, they heard a panicked, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" from behind the darkness of the corridor. The barefoot experiment ran up with a mop and bucket in hand. Blood from his mouth was all over his chin and face, and it was soaked all over the front of his bright white slip. It dripped onto the floor and left little red footprints behind him as he ran. 

"I'm so sorry!" he apologized again, and immediately got to work mopping up the mess he had made.

"What happened?" Shen voiced.

"I... I got a little sick" he whispered, "I'm sorry. Are you hurt?"

"I hit my elbow!" the prince sobbed.

"Shut up!" Shen yelled, batting him in the head again.

"No you shut up!" Cronos sobbed back, lashing a fist out at him. The did not even notice in their fight that Ryu's breathing was becoming harsh and raspy, and that he eventually used his mop as a support before finally fainting.

~~~~~~~~

"PsstRyu!" The prince later hissed into the only experiment's cage whose door was wide open, as a physical prison was never necessary for its tenant. A sleeping beast's eyes peeked from a furry brown face. The mole creature inhaled a surprised hissed breath. "You okay?" Cronos whispered." The mole glowed and transformed back into a sickly youth. "Cronos It's night-"

"I know what time it is, but after that whole blood thing I couldn't get past Ganesha while he was awake. I had to risk it."

"I'm sorry about earlier today."

"Hey, I'm worried about _you! _One minute you were standing, and then you were just lying in the blood you barfed up. We thought you died. Shen seriously freaked!"

"You were worried about me"

"Umm yeah. I mean, we're friends, right?"

The shamed ninja stared at him with wide and almost scary eyes. "F-Friends?!"

"Yes?"

He stood up and took a few unsure steps towards him. "Then," he began to stutter, "T-then it would be okay if I asked you to" He looked down, embarrassed. "To"

He gave a forced smile and laughed, "Hey, I don't care about this stupid shame crap! Come on! Ask me!"

The young dragon stayed quiet for a few seconds, and then he slowly and deliberately stepped out of his cell, the guilt of breaking that rule obviously affecting him. He grabbed Cronos' hand and told him to come with him.

They crept down the hall and peered into the dark corridor where the two had experienced their brush with Tylon's resident ghost. The former Young Dragon bowed to the nothingness and quietly promised that they were not going to meddle in anything. He stared into the dark, and Cronos was just about to ask how long he was going to stand there when the mysterious youth turned and grabbed his hand once more and ran into the abyss. Somehow, he navigated perfectly in the dark. They stopped, and Ryu felt the wall for a false wall to a little crawl space. He directed Cronos to crawl through to a small room there was a enough headspace for a child to touch the ceiling. Ryu flipped a little switch and Cronos could see little couches with wild patterns, writing on the wall, and nearly empty liquor bottles from who knows when, lying amongst sharp glass shards and ominous brown splotches on the floor.

"What is this place?" he whispered.

Neither of them could figure the place out. In reality, it was a long forgotten space that a scientist discovered one day and used for illegal get-togethers and playing hooky with his fellow coworkers. Some of the debris from their parties in "The Love Lounge" were still scattered about the space, and most of the room was still caked in dust and filth.

"I don't know. I found it a while back" the other whispered back. He moved a beanbag chair and retrieved two long items that made a metallic sound when they clinked together. They were short swords. He held one out for Cronos to take. 

"Please be my second." 

His face, normally unsure and afraid, was now uncomfortably serious.

"Y-your what?"

"I'm sorry," he then sighed, regaining his lower-than-dirt mentality, "I know I am to live my life in shame and it is even more improper to want a second"

"H-hold on!" Cronos interrupted, "I don't even know what you're talking about!"

He blinked curiously, as if it was the most obvious thing. "I'd like you to cut off my head."

"What?"

"After I make the incision."

"I-Incision?!"

"In my belly?" 

Cronos took a step back and stared at him, completely distraught. "Y-you're going to cut your belly open?"

"Well, I guess it wouldn't be right to do it that way, since I don't even have permission and-"

"You're joking, right? You're not really gonna"

"I'm sorry," the boy whispered, dejected, "I know I have no right to try and take the shame away I shouldn't have even thought of this."

He lowered his head and looked away. Cronos reluctantly touched his shoulder. Ryu trembled.

"I want to die."

"Huh?"

The dark haired boy pushed himself away and dropped to the floor. He stiffly took out his own sword and unsheathed it. "I'm selfish," he whispered, "I want to be dead." He gripped the short sword by the blade. Small jets of blood escaped from between his fingers. "I'm sorry. I'm only doing this for me, so I'll do it by myself." Very deliberately, he positioned the blade to insert it into the left side of his abdomen and he began to thrust

The blade was awkwardly yanked out of his body's reach, slashing deeper into already wounded hands.

"Cut it out! You're scaring me!" Cronos yelped. His breath was frantic and he panicked at the blood pouring from Ryu's hands. 

The two panted and stared into each other's eyes, waiting for something, anything to happen. Cronos watched Ryu's face reflect just how hopeless he had become. 

"I I want to die I want to be dead!"

Cronos was taken aback. He had never experienced these feelings or being around somebody with them. He had barely even known they existed. He was completely confounded, and he had no idea what to do or say. He uncomfortably watched his strange companion curl up on the floor in a show of emotion he had never thought he would see from him.

"Ryu"

"Today," he sniffled, "I think I gave myself an overdose of that drug and I think I did it on purpose, too And I didn't die. I hurt you, instead."

"Hey, it's not your fault you barfed blood all over the stairs."

"I want to die. I want to die. I want to die"

Cronos searched himself for something to say. After cycling through other possible useless comments, he settled with, "I'm sure whatever you lost will turn up eventually"

But the younger wept the mantra, "No, it wontit won't it won't"

Cronos' conscience and paranoia now ate at him with record intensity. His insides boiled, and he himself wanted to be dead. "Don't worry," he told him when he made a decision to himself, "It will turn up eventually."

~~~~~~

It was early in the morning, but still at the hours that could be considered late at night. The prince nervously glanced back at the little pools of water he left behind him. He could not help it, as he was completely soaked from swimming to the bottom of an unusually deep fish pond. He tried to make himself unheard, but as skilled at sneaking he was, he was still about as detectable as the average child. He peered around the corner to where the cages were. No, it would be a bad idea to go there. It would be best to leave it where he found it 

He turned, bumped into the young ninja and figured he was about dead. His expression was completely unreadable and he stuttered, trying to come up with his last words. He did not have to, though.

" You found it" he said, as though in awe.

"Uh uh"

"You found it. You found the heirloom."

"Um yeah! Yeah, I did"

Slowly, and carefully, as though it might be a ghost's illusion on front of him, he reached out and touched the slick armor. He was fascinating to watch. It was as if he was unsure of what to do with his life now that his precious heirloom was no longer missing. He gently put his fingers around the edges of the metal, and Cronos figured out that he was silently asking if he could take it. He slowly shifted the weight into Ryu's arms. The boy became completely breathless and speechless. He was almost in awe of the damp and now dingy item he held. Finally, he managed to breathe a "Thank You" before running away.

Cronos watched him leave.

"I wanna die"

~~~~~~~~

What to do? What to do? True, he now obtained the item that had changed his life. How was he going to return it? How was he going to make it presentable? How was he going to explain himself? 

Things had become so much worse and so much more painful. What was he to do? How could he even present himself to his master? Could there have even been redemption for him? What if this only made matters worse?

He fingered the damp cloth. How was he going to fix this?

"Well, Young Dragon" a voice called to him from the darkness.

He froze upon hearing what used to be his title and and refused to insult the voice's source by turning to it.

"I am talking to you We have not gotten a new heir just yet."

The master of the Clan of the Soil bent down and took the armor in one large hand. "You've gotten it wet, dirty, tarnished, moldy"

The boy cringed with each description. The old master turned away from him and began to walk in the direction of his clan's quarters.

"You're going to have a lot of work to do to make it fit for the day you wear it."

Once the meaning of what he had just said had registered in the heir's mind, he leapt to his feet and quickly ran to catch up with his master.

"M-master?" 

"What are you doing in those clothes," the master voiced while he kept his head up high, "They're dirty and unfit for our kind."

"You-you mean?"

"I mean what?"

The two stopped and the older ninja finally looked at him sternly. The younger squirmed a little.

"You don't hate me anymore?"

He finally looked at him and said nothing. Then he quickly looked at the labs. It was time to get out of these surroundings.

"Come on. We have to go home."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"He took her He took her!"

"Yes, I know!" Marvel snapped, "There are more important things to worry about!"

"Fuck the important things!" he roared suddenly into the miniscule screen. Even Marvel was taken aback. The prince tried to calm himself with slow breaths when he realized he had lost his temper on front of a lady. "I'm terribly sorry, Miss Marvel"

"What's gotten into you?" she asked, not sounding like she was forgiving him, "You're normally jaded and lovestupid, but this is ridiculous!"

Cronos leaned against the wall and ran his fingers through his hair. He sighed. "I'm not sure, myself" He then decided to change the subject. "So, who are these guests of yours?" he asked, obviously referring to the two she currently held at gunpoint. 

"These boneheads (Hey!') are our new allies," Marvel explained with a grunt. Using a quick jerk of her head, she motioned to the people off-camera to come into view. "They've got people over there they wanna save. This is Alice."

"And this," she then continued in a derogatory nasal voice, "thick-headed muscle-packed weirdo is Yugo."

"I don't like being called stupid," the man objected.

"I didn't call you stupid; I called you thick-headed muscle-packed weirdo.' Now shaddup." The pigtailed woman then decided to interrupt. "Excuse me," she questioned in a mock-polite voice, "but if the walls have ears, then what are you doing introducing us over a video phone?"

Cronos almost snickered at the look he saw on a silent Marvel's face. Finally, she replied in her own mock-polite voice, "Excuse me, but I think lead is bad for your make-up," and she lifted up her weapon to remind her that she still held it. "Sit down and shut up."

As he did not like any lady being in distress, Cronos decided to change the subject to one of the preferred more important things. "Any luck with your father?"

"As if I'd actually have any? Daddy's such a dope!"

"Alright! Alright! I'm sorry for asking"

Yugo, not knowing when to stop, teased, "'Daddy?'"

"Shut up."

"Papa's girl!" Yugo and Alice both teased in unison.

"You wanna die?" Shina growled, raising the gun and thus shutting them up once more.

"That reminds me" she started to say with a grin, which made Cronos ,Yugo, and Alice all gulp uneasily, "These two are our kind I say we attack the place head-on and you get the place from the inside."

The prince let out an exasperated grunt. "What's new?"

The look on Marvel's face was eager and dangerous. "But don't you see? We have two more on our side now! I can whip some shape into them an' then with your help and a little fake message to the police and daddy's apartment We'll _make_ a reason for them to break into and convict Tylon!"

Cronos was starting to get annoyed again. His head began to hurt. "Oh, for the love ofMarvel! Can't we come up with any new plans?!"

"Nope. Sorry."

Cronos buried his face in one hand and grumbled inaudible expletives in frustration. As well as Marvel knew him, she had rarely seen him lose his posture on front of a young lady he had just met. 

"Cronos"

"I'm fine!" he snapped, "It's just my head" His breathing was now shallow and audible, and his forehead was shiny with sweat.

"Has Busuzima-"

"No! In fact, he hasn't given me anything in a while. I It kinda feels like there's something in the air, you know?"

Marvel glared at him very grimly. She did not say anything, though. Even if she was going to say something, the sound of feet from the other line alerted her to an intruder, someone who could hear their plans. She immediately cut the video end of the phone. The audio was still connected. Marvel told the others to hush while she listened closely for any hints from whoever this might be. She moaned when she heard Cronos exclaim "Kitten!"

She made a mental note to block out any of the sweet gooey sickness that she might hear, but that was soon changed when she heard the sound of a body collapse and a young girl yell the prince's name.

"That sounded like-"

"Hush!" Marvel hissed to Alice. She leaned in to listen to the commotion. A girl's voice was frantic, trying to figure out whatever had happened. Finally, she called his guard for help, but he seemed just as clueless.

"I don't know what happened. I just touched him and"

She heard raspy panting and pained groaning.

"What's going on?" the female voice asked.

There was a little silence before a much lower voice said, "He's burning up."

"I think he's trying to say something"

"Get off of me!"

There was a thud and a yelp.

"Cronos!" Two voices yelled.

"I'm fine! What are you doing walking in on me like that?"

"I"

"You _what?"_

"Umm"

There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh, a short feminine shriek, and a surprised interjection of an older man.

"Quit playing innocent like that!"

"He's certainly wolf in sheep's clothing')" Alice grumbled.

Marvel whispered, very absorbed in the matter, "But I thought that was his new girl. He's normally never like this to any young woman, especially if she's his girl"

"Cronos?"

There was more panting, and then a voice straining itself to tell her to leave before finally yelling an order to leave him alone. Then there were footsteps, then silence, before Cronos went pack to the phone.

Cronos looked worse than before. He could not hide the fact that something was wrong with him; it was clear in his face and dilated eyes. He was hunched over, using the table as a support while his free arm clutched at his chest. 

"Look, Cronos"

"I'm _fine," _he growled threateningly. 

Marvel was through being sarcastic. She now sounded like a concerned parent. "Look. If anything starts happening, don't be afraid to call me, okay? We'll send help right over. Don't worry- I'll come up with a good excuse."

"I said I'm fine," he wheezed. "I'll call you back."

Without even saying goodbye properly, he cut the transmission. Upon turning around, the big task it now was, he saw Uriko watching him nervously. Had she heard anything? He wanted to give her a piece of his mind, but had neither the strength nor the coordination to do so. In fact, his sudden burst of energy was already fading into the still tense mood from before. 

Uriko cautiously stepped up to him to offer him help. He acknowledged for once that he did need it now, but he was reluctant to touch her again. She moved right up and put his arm over her shoulder without any words or warning. Nothing happened now, and Cronos let himself relax and be led away by his kitten. 

~~~~ 

After realizing Cronos had hung up on her, Marvel stood back and placed her hands on her waist. Things were certainly different this phone call.

"This is serious," was all she said while she thought this situation.

"Miss Marvel?" Alice asked timidly.

Marvel dismissed her; she was thinking.

"What about that superstition' stuff? You know, that parchment I was reading?"

"Don't be stupid," the blonde spat, "There's no such thing as magic or those kinds of creatures"

"But there are zoanthropes" Yugo reminded her.

Alice backed him up with, "Yugo _is_ a werewolf' of sorts"

Marvel stared at the floor. Her face hardened into a grim frown. All she had to say now was, "This is very serious." 

Finally, she turned to Alice and told her they were not going to wait much longer; they could not afford to do so. And then she remembered something: Alice's mother worked for Tylon. That could prove to be hazardous to their cause.

"We're going to have to do something about that," she muttered, eying her pigtails. Without any other word, she took Alice by the hand, dragged her into the bathroom, and shut the door behind her.

~~~~~~

_So, tell me Who are you?_

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

__

Is that all you have to say?

Get out of my head!

_You ask the impossible._

"You think you know everything," the youth grumbled.

_I have reason to do so_

"Shut up!" You sound like that stupid old man sometimes

__

How so? I'd like you to put it into words for me.

You "You're always messing around with every little thing I do and feel."

__

It's not that unusual when coming from the inside, you know. If we weren't so messed up, we wouldn't even be in this situation, having arguments like this

So Why is your Master suddenly "That stupid old man?"

Why so silent?

"I hate him. And he's not my master!"

The teenaged ninja kicked a broken beaker across the metallic floor of an unused lab. "I'm not subordinate to anyone," he growled.

Speaking of such things,_"subordinate" seems to include "equal" with you, which reminds me You can't tell me that back there you didn't like being "subordinate" to that girl._

"I'm nobody's! You got that?" I'm especially not that geezer's little pet!" he yelled, before walking right into "that geezer." Actually, it was not quite the old man he had in mind. It was a statue?

"The resemblance is eerie, no?"

"I told you to shut-" he started to say, but then he realized that it was the deep voice of Bakuryu of the Clan of the Soil. He had not even been aware that he was being followed.

_Our senses are becoming dull, aren't they_

"Your senses are becoming dull," the old master said as a greeting.

__

No, he is not reading your mind.

"What do you want?" the new Bakuryu grumbled.

The elder approached what the younger thought was himself and motioned toward it. "Have I ever told you about this?" he asked him. It was a rhetorical question, of course.

"This was a 'gift' to us," he explained, "'The Iron Mole' is, quite obviously, not a statue, nor is it a 'helper.' Clearly, it is a replacement. The clan unanimously refused it and requested its building be haulted. Later, we found it, near completion, down here. We've been meddling with it, making sure it would never activate, and it has always been fixed, but in the past year or so all the repairs stopped, even after we reduced it to a mere shell."

To tell the truth, the younger found himself awed by the tale and the creation, though he hated to admit it. When Bakuru turnd to him, he had already molded his face into a snotty expression just for him to show he did not care.

"So?" He asked with the diverted gaze, crossed arms, and bored tone of a spoiled child.

"'So?' Can't you see where this is leading, Young Dragon?"

"My name is Bakuryu, and I really don't give a damn."

In his haughtiness, he did not keep up his guard, thus leaving him wide open for the blow to the face that was dealt to him.

"If you are going to take that name, you must take the responsibilities that go with it as well!" he barked. He then lowered his tone, "Besides, even if you do renounce your origins, this will ultimately affect you as well. Our clan has been exclusively and loyally serving the Tylon family for generations. If anything odd is going to happen to the people in charge, we would need to be eliminated."

"Good"

"Listen to me!" Bakuryu pointed to the metal soldier on the pedestal and made sure he heard him say, "If 'The Iron Mole' isn't good enough to defeat us, what is? There's something worse in store for us and for the rest of Tylon. Haven't you felt it?"

The teenager bent backwards, obviously annoyed by Bakuryu's sudden advance as he talked. He was certainly getting touchy lately."Felt what?"

"The energy that's surrounding us now: that vexed, violent kind of energy that's building itself up in anticipation. Can't you feel it?"

The brunette stared at him oddly.

"It's like there's something in the air"

~~~~~~

Uriko paced madly around her bed. First, on royal orders, she was forbidden to leave Cronos' quarters, second, the prince had suddenly become paricularly possessive and irritable. Ganesha was just as confused as she was. As strange as the eccentric Cronos could get, he was never quite so violent, expecially around someone like Uriko. Not only was Uriko worried, but she was becoming so tense. She had always despised anything remotely close to boredom. Not only that, but for some reason everything had started to feel so tense. The very air was full of static. Something was not right. Something bad was getting ready to strike. She could feel it in her body and in her soul. She was becoming so antsy, she could not stand it anymore. Uriko had to strain to disobey the urge to hit something. 

Expecially after her experience in the labs, with whatever it was that had just seemed to call to her, she had felt so antsy and tense. It was what had made her run as if home was at the other end of the labs. After he had gotten back to Cronos' quarters, it had kind of worn off, but the feeling was not completely gone. In a way, it felt somewhat natural to her.

To distract herself, she tried thinking about what used to be on her mind all the time: escape and trust. Cronos was always a bit creepy, and now she felt particularly unsafe around him, even if she were to do her cute act. She had seen a little glimmer of hope in the situation of trusting Kenji, but that was also dangerous. 

She flung herself onto the bed and puched at the pillows in frustration. Now the both of them were possessive creeps!

If they happened to get into a fight, all heck would surely break loose But they probably wouldn't get into an all-out duel, would they?

~~~~~~

The new Bakuryu sat brooding in the mess of pipes in the shadows the ceiling cast. How dare that old man still bother him? How dare the voices torment him so? He was Bakuryu, master of The Dark, and nobody was his master. With enough hate, he could block anything out. With enough hate, the fossil's ramblings, the voices' words, and the taunting slivers of memories that danced just out of reach faded into the abyss. He knew what he wanted, and he was going to get it. No rule, "master," or stupid little voice was going to stop him. New voices were coming now. Faint little whispers danced the war dance like a growing flame within him, chanting the mantra to fight and kill and take what was his.

~~~~~~

Nothing could quench the bonfire that scorched him from within. The feeling of something from inside trying to emerge had returned stronger than before. Like before, he burned up and could feel energy agitate his body to painful measures. However, now a kind of knowledge was coming with it. He knew very well he was a prince, but now he vaguely knew he was more. He had pride, heritage, divinity. It was still lost inside, and still tantalizing him with this agony, but it was there, and it would escape somehow.

He had the knowledge that a great battle was coming, one of hundreds of pathetic and worthless against one superior being. How glorious it would be! He had been cooped up in a small cage for so long; it was time to get out, stretch, and see if he had lost his touch after so long.

That was odd, he thought, but it was just fine. Such strength would suffice for the only battle he counted on fighting.


End file.
